Unattainable
by Zadien
Summary: MusaxRiven.“I’m not a nice person, I can be moody and a git” “Preaching to the choir!” She snapped.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Winx or anything related to their world.

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This was written during a serious writing drought in which I needed to take a break from my usual fanfictions and decided that since I knew some things about Winx, I'd write something for it. I have not seen the entire first series (it's on at seven thirty on a Sunday morning) but I have played the game (it's the only one I've completed, woe is me) so I know something about the series. I don't know how Musa and Riven get together, I don't even know if they do but I wanted to write about these two because Riven has one of those personalities I like to sink my teeth into. So this should only last two chapters... (it was originally supposed to only last one).

* * *

Unattainable

When he'd look back, he would never be sure what compelled him to do it. Maybe it was simply an accident, after all they do happen. Even to heroes in training, and even more importantly, to heroes themselves but not nearly as often because that would diminish their hero status. Maybe on a subconscious level, he knew what he was doing. Perhaps he just couldn't go on with the way things were, living a lie and denying what he knew was right. Or it simply just could have slipped out because he was thinking about her, instead of the girl in his arms.

Thinking about the way her eyes would sparkle with mischief when she was teasing him, with that slight superior glint that told him that he couldn't do a thing that would really push her away and he'd tried so hard. Thinking about how when the sun gleamed on her hair, it turned an intriguing shade of blue and how it looked incredibly soft but he'd never dared to try and touch it. And how she had that cute upturned nose, and he would never ever under the penalty of death, utter that word in regards a person. Then there was the way her voice had that rusty quality that drove him mad when he was alone, thinking about hearing it murmuring his name.

He thought about her too much and no girl, fairy or not, should be allowed to wear that short of a skirt! How were men supposed to fight when there were girls flying about in scraps of clothing? It was indecent! But, she did look good in it.

Of course, all these thoughts, which occurred to him at the most inappropriate times, were the reason he was in this mess now.

He shouldn't have done it, he shouldn't have uttered Musa's name; not when he was kissing Darcy. But who knew the witch would overreact. So he said Musa's name, -and had been thinking about her instead of the witch in his arms which he had a tendency to do- big deal, it wasn't a crime. It wasn't as though he was cheating on her, he hadn't even talked to Musa much and when he did see her, they were always accompanied by those pixies she called friends. He would never understand what his friends saw in them. Well maybe Techna was ok; she at least had some dignity and didn't do that whole squealing thing that girls seemed to do a lot.

Which was pretty much the reason he was with Darcy in the first place -well besides the spell. She at least acted mature, she was a witch and it was true that she was evil but she had curves in the right place and she never wanted to talk to him about his day.

But she wasn't Musa. It was all Musa's fault, why did she have to be her? She was violently protective of her friend, so loyal that she stuck by everyone even those who had wronged her -i.e. himself. She was creative and smart, and a loud mouth, he added wryly. The girl never knew when to keep her mouth shut but at the same time, she could keep her mind focused on the problem. And every irritating part of her just endeared her to him more.

Darcy's reaction hadn't been good, he mused with a dry smirk before he winced. Oh no, she had freaked out in a big way, going so far as to attack him physically before she remembered she had magick. So not only did he have great big welts from her nails, he had burn marks from her dark energy field, before she had played target practice with him. With little room to maneuver, he'd taken several direct hits from her dark rays before Stormy had entered the room and he had escaped to the closest translocator. He didn't go back to Red Fountain, mainly because his friends would be there and he didn't need their sympathy. All he wanted was to brood about how stupid he was to allow himself to have feelings for that…

So that was how he ended up in the black swamp, listening to the crickets and the odd croak from a swamp frog. The advantage of the Black Mud swamp was the lack of civilization and there was less chance of Darcy following him. She was sure as hell not finished with him. She was too much like Icy to let him get away before she was finished. Now she would probably prolong the punishment but he would take it. And then he'd get away from this whole screwed up situation for a while so he could get his head cleared. When he came back, he hoped to be able to stay away from both girls for a long time, especially Darcy. She was kind of clingy and she had only wanted him for a trophy anyway.

He gazed dispassionately at his reflection in the murky water. His face was slashed from her razor sharp nails -another pet peeve of his. At least Musa had short nails though he had noted she had a tendency to bite them when she was nervous, which was why Stella had painted them with something that tasted bad; or so Brandon had told him. His hand was turning black due to the fact that he had shielded his face from one of her attacks; he didn't know what they were, he just knew those rings of indigo hurt. He knew his shirt was torn into ribbons and singed from where his back had collided with the force field she'd erected to trap him and his back itself was so painful he couldn't even feel anything anymore unless a muscle jumped and then it erupted into a scorching inferno of pain.

He'd have to go back to the school and get healed up; perhaps even a fairy would have to be brought in to heal some of his deeper wounds. Flora could help but he didn't want to go to the Winx club for the same reason he didn't want to go back to his dorm and more so, how would Musa react? She didn't know he was still seeing Darcy; even Icy and Stormy didn't which was why it was probably taking Darcy so long to track him. They wouldn't take her seeing the enemy too well, and she was the enemy despite the make out sessions. He never forgot what she'd done to him. He just… he just couldn't help it. Call him a glutton for punishment; he did it enough to himself.

So lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice the strange indistinct sound that had begun to disturb the air of the swamp. It was too high pitched to be the buzzing of a fly but that was what it sounded like when he finally noticed it. And it was heading his way.

And it was accompanied by footsteps, careful ones that were avoiding the puddles by the sounds of it. Hissing in a breath, he pressed back against the tree trunk he'd climbed up to give him a good vantage point. Turning, he tried to see around the bend so he could have a good chance to get out of there should it turn out to be Darcy. He didn't like to run, but sometimes running was all you could do. Especially when you weren't in any shape to do battle against a scorned witch. What was the saying? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Yeah, well up that ten fold and you had his predicament.

A figure rounded the bend, hands at a ready for anything that should attack. Immediately he could see it was a fairy; only fairies held themselves like that. Warriors had their shields and swords at the ready, fairies stood ready to call up their shield at the slightest hint of danger. He'd seen Bloom call up a shield every time she opened a door at Cloud Tower once, because she hadn't been sure what could be on the other side. It was a good tactical approach, and this fairy was doing…

Well wouldn't that just be typical, he thought snidely as he recognized the figure. No one else walked into danger with damn headphones on their head. How was she supposed to hear anything when she was filling her head with music? He was tempted to jump down just to scare the crap out of her but he was well aware of the damage that one of their little magma orbs could do, he'd been on the receiving end once or twice. Through no fault of his own of course, he just happened to know a lot of fire happy fairies.

Suddenly a barrier enclosed the girl, purple and shimmering with light as it pulsed in time with her heartbeat. Keeping it steady with her hands, she scanned her surroundings and frowned. Despite the music, something had obviously startled her. Giving the area another sweep of her gaze, she finally decided she was safe and with a flick of her hand, she pulled the shield down and absorbed the energy, no good wasting it, he thought with a glimmer of admiration before he ruthlessly squashed it.

She was dressed in the typical khaki shirt and shorts that seemed to be the Alfea school trip uniform, despite the fact that Alfea didn't actually have a uniform. Her hair was pulled into its usual bunches that just made her look younger but always seemed to bring attention right to those obsidian eyes that seemed to contain the stars within them. The khaki shirt seemed to lend some color to her alabaster pale skin which just served to make her eyes darker and even more the focal point of that oriental face.

Her head bobbed to the music in her headphones as she reached into her backpack and tugged out a blanket, laying it on the earth before she knelt. Quickly shifting so that she was sitting with her back to the tree and her legs stretched before, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, lips moving in sync to the music from her headphones.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. Of all times she would come to the swamp, she just had to pick now. Sometimes he swore she would be the death of him.

Suddenly she jerked as though shot and his heart jumped into his throat, before he swallowed it when she sat up and began to fish in her bag before pulling out her phone. Untangling her headphones, she was just about to punch in the number when it began to hum cheerfully.

"Yo." she answered in the casual greeting that was innately her. "Stella? Hey! You were messing with my music player, weren't you?"

Whatever Stella had been about to say was quickly lost as her eyes widened and she 'eeped'. "Uh… no!" She refuted, her eyes darting nervously.

"Stella, picture phone." Musa reminded her dryly and had a smirk tugging at his lips. "I can see you, Stella."

"Oh right… We have a slight emergency-"

"One thing at a time Stella. How would you like it if I went and wore your shoes into the swamp?"

"You wouldn't dare! My feet are much smaller than yours."

"No you just wear a smaller size. I happen to like my feet being feet shaped, sister. Now tell the truth because your preppy boy band music is being played in _my_ earphones!"

Stella opened her mouth to reply then winced and, much to Riven's shock and Musa's surprise, she pulled her top up over her face as though to hide it.

"Stella, picture phone!" Musa screamed, flinging a hand over her face. "You're flashing me; I don't want to see your boobs. Save them for Brandon!"

Stella yelped; then blushed. "Oops, sorry." her eyes strayed to the side and she nodded at something that was out of the scope of the camera. "Oh right, my bad. Look, we have a slight situation. The witches are up to something."

"Wanna tell me something I don't know? Like the answers to professor Palladium's quiz?" Musa asked nonchalantly as she leaned back against the tree trunk. "The witches are always up to something, has to do with them being evil and wanting to take over the world."

"No this is serious, missy! We can't find- Huh?" she broke off and tilted her head. "Oh! Right, ok. I found him. ok, he's with Musa." Stella turned back while Musa simply gaped at the screen muttering phrases like: 'who's with me? Did Kiko go missing?' and the like. "When did you find him? You know, you could have contacted us, we were really worried you know."

"Stella? Put Techna on the phone right now!"

"But… Oh, ok. How bad is he injured?"

"WHO!"

But Stella had already passed on the phone leaving Musa completely bewildered as she looked around her for this mysterious person. A flash of pink caught her eye and Techna appeared on the screen.

"Oh good, you found-"

"OH NUTS! I FLASHED HIM!"

Musa sweat-dropped at Stella's appalled scream before turning her attention back to Techna. "Who's missing?"

"Why Riven, of course."

Musa looked around her, startled eyes wide and dark as she scanned for the elusive member of the Specialists but still, she couldn't see head or tail of the arrogant jerk that constantly preyed on her thoughts. "Oh, of course. So where is he? And why would Stella think he'd be with me? I seriously-"

"You know, if you took those headphones off once in a while, you might know a little more."

Musa yelped and jumped to her feet, dropping the phone causing Techna to call out in alarm. She looked around her frantically, before her gaze moved steadily up the tree as something disturbed the leaves and began a slow descent. Red trousers, a cool looking wife beater, lean, wiry build, long, subtly toned limbs. Short burgundy hair. Oh no.

"Yeah and if I wore them constantly, I could block you out. Oh there's an idea." she snapped, grabbing her earphones and pulling them on, shooting a venomous glare at his back before picking up the phone. "I found him, I just wish I had known he was here so I could have avoided coming here." she added on an aside.

"Give it a rest Musa. I'm not in the mood to play your juvenile games."

"You're such a jerk-" she broke off with a surprised gasp of horror. "What in Magix's name happened to you? Get in a fight with your shadow?"

He gave her a cool look, favoring his right side. He looked a sight, hair matted, ugly gashes had sliced up his face, his white shirt was bloodstained, his left eye was black, his lip busted, he was limping and he smelt of scorched flesh. She swallowed hard.

He backed up a step when she moved towards him and held up a hand. "I'm fine; I just need to get back to the school. A few healing spells and I'll be fine."

"What happened to you?" She asked before she could help herself, her concerned eyes scanning his injuries.

"I got into a fight with my shadow." He replied levelly.

"What shape is your shadow in?"

His lip quirked before he winced, his vision was spinning worryingly and she was fading in and out of clarity. "I… I…"

"You need medical attention." She finished. "Come on." she ordered, stepping towards him and giving him a hard look when he stepped back. "Riven, either you let me help or I knock you out!"

He gave a disgusted snort, before letting her hooking his arm over her shoulder to take his weight. She worried her lip as he stifled a hiss of pain and the going was incredibly slow. It seemed that every time he moved, he agitated another wound.

"Ok, maybe I can float you there or something. You're in too much pa-"

"I'm a hero; we are trained to cope with pain."

"Are you trained to deal with magically inflicted wounds?" she snapped back. "Half of these look bad but they could be much worse. You have no idea if you have any internal wounds, for goodness sake, you could have a punctured lung or who knows what, how could you be so careless as to stay out here instead of going to get help?"

He shot her a dark look out of violet eyes. "Just get me to the portal and try not to lecture me to death; the wounds are doing a good enough-"

"SHUT UP!" She growled. "Don't even talk about dying, Riven. I won't have your death on my conscience."

Without saying another word, she began to lead him towards translocator that she had arrived with.

* * *

Three days later and Musa was not a happy bunny and she knew what one looked like! Having lived in a dorm with one, she knew very well what a happy bunny looked like and how they acted and she was in no way feeling remotely like a happy bunny.

Scowling she arrived in Black Mud Swamp for the second time that week. It was all Riven's fault, it was always his fault but this time more than any other time, it was his fault. If he hadn't gotten injured and she still didn't know how it happened, something about Darcy and something. He had been pretty tight lipped about it and all the other boys knew was that she had showed up at their dorm looking for him, only to have felt the bite of Timmy's blade as he reacted out of reflex which got him a peck on the lips from Techna. The boys' blush could have lit up Sparks for a couple of hours.

It was sweet, it really was and Musa had really admired the guts it took for stuttering Timmy to face down Darcy in one of her rages. She just would have liked to know what had put the girl into one of her rages, or more to the point, what Riven had said. She figured it could have run from anything since the guy had a way of cutting people with his careless comments. The thing was that he wasn't careless because he liked to hurt people but because he generally just didn't really care. She figured it was a thin line to walk but it redeemed him in her eyes in some way. She wasn't quite sure why, though sometimes she wished he hurt people just for the sake of hurting them, then it wouldn't seem so bad when he hurt her for his own pleasure. At least it would be for a reason. But then again, if he just hurt her because he couldn't help it, then at least then it wouldn't be personal or against her.

She scowled and stomped further into the forest. Ok, trying to work out the inner workings of Riven's mind would be the death of her. Fiddling with her music player in her pocket, she flicked through to find an angry song to match her mood but none seemed to fit.

Finally, she made do as she rounded the corner and immediately flung up her barrier as a swamp frog leaped towards her. A zap sound told her that his whipping tongue had met with her barrier and probably would have pierced her skin had she not erected her protective shield in time. As she watched the great beast begin its attack, she began to count the time in between each individual lick of his tongue. The tongue was its only weapon but it was long and sharp, which made dodging it a little difficult but she couldn't defeat it if she just defended.

Another 'zap' and she immediately dropped her defenses, running towards the beast and shooting a few magma orbs at it before she leapt over it, turning to face its back where she began to shoot it as quickly as possible before it could turn to face her. The beast croaked and leapt into the nearest bush, making an incredible crashing sound as it made its escape.

She blew out a breath and sighed.

Riven was right, she should pay more attention to her surroundings, she thought as she approached the tree she had dropped her bag at the other day. Approaching the base of the trunk, she let out an exclamation of dismay. It was gone. Her botany project was lost, as was her phone and her other valuables.

She groaned softly and sunk down onto the ground. This was his entire fault. If she had just grabbed her bag instead of hurrying him to the translocator, then she wouldn't be in this situation. Professor Palladium was going to give her a big fat F. And with that grade, there'd be no chance of her passing this year's exam. She was hoping for her projects to bring up her grade in a subject she was obviously lacking an aptitude for.

A tingle on the back of her neck caught her attention and with a resigned sigh, she lifted her gaze to the high boughs of the tree, removing her earphones as she did. A tingle shot through her and her hair went on end. She swallowed hard but kept her gaze steady, trying not to portray the rapid beating of her heart or the fluttering of nerves in the pit of her stomach.

"What are you doing up there? Shouldn't you be recuperating?"

Riven leapt from the tree branch and landed neatly on the ground; so close her stomach hopped. "All better."

And so he was, she realized, looking him over. He wasn't nursing his side, he was standing in his usual arrogant stance with his hips cocked and one foot in front of the other. He looked completely casual and yet, she knew that should anything make a surprise attack, he would be ready for it. The sun gleamed on the two bangs that fluttered in the faint breeze that managed to stir the muggy air and his eyes were bright, alive with intelligence and condescension.

"That's good Riven, I'm really glad but that doesn't explain why you're here or why you let me be attacked by that frog! Some hero you'll be. What will you do, sit back and let your people save themselves?"

"Sure, at least then they'll be able to take care of themselves if I'm otherwise engaged. I don't want them relying on me for everything. Besides, you handled yourself fine."

She lifted a finger to poke him; then thought better of it. She wasn't touching him. If she did, she might be tempted to do more and that was unacceptable. Having a crush on a guy was bad, having him know it was absolutely fatal. It was the quickest way to heartbreak city.

"Why are you here?"

He slid her bag down his arm and dangled it before her. "You left this; I was just going to return it. Least I could do since you helped."

"Darn straight." She muttered under her breath, plucking the bag from his fingers, ignoring the way her fingers tingled when they came into contact with his. She hated that he always looked good; sometimes when he looked at her, she was sure she would be reduced to a puddle of mush. He just had that affect on her. It didn't matter how rude or arrogant he was, she always got a strange delighted thrill every time she saw him. It was unfair but she had come to accept it. It just was her burden in life. "Are you ever going to spill?"

"Spill what?"

"What happened to make Darcy beat you black and blue? Oh and let's not forget the yellow, the green and the purple and the red that also colored your skin."

"Funny, Musa." he quipped dryly, looking up at the sky.

She noted the flexing of his fist and raised a brow. Oh please, he wanted to hit her for a stupid question? He needed anger management. "I was just curious."

"It was nothing important."

"She still bitter about you helping Miss Griffin escape? Because that happened ages ago."

"It has nothing to do with that."

She bit her tongue. "Whatever."

"I should have known."

Musa's hair stood on end at the cruel, bitter voice that echoed through the forest. Immediately, she went on the defensive, her eyes scanning for the person who had spoken, while Riven had reached for his sword and shield, activating them as he took a cautious step forward that placed him in front of Musa.

"Darcy?" she whispered and he nodded grimly.

"Come out and face us." he ordered, senses alert and there before them, the air shimmered with purple fog and Darcy stepped out in her witch form. A tingle moved up his back, a prickle of power like marching ants over his skin, as Musa shifted into her Winx form. He didn't dare glance back to see just how high the skirt actually was up close, but kept his eyes on his purple clad ex.

She flicked her hair over her shoulder and stepped forward, a definite sway to her hips as she watched him with glittering eyes. "How convenient that I find you with her. Two birds with one stone."

"Leave her out of it."

"Oh no, I couldn't do that when she so very much is a part of this."

Musa frowned as she watched the scene over Riven's shoulders. "Why don't you take your witchy butt back to wherever it came from! No one wants you here."

"Does she know Riven? Does she forgive you?"

The musical princess had no clue what Darcy was talking about. Maybe Darcy had finally lost her marbles, it wouldn't surprise her. After all that she had seen, nothing would ever surprise her.

"Forgive him for what?"

"She doesn't know? Oh Riven, that's just not fair." Darcy scolded him in a sing-song tone as she turned to Musa. "Riven and I were a couple." There was a bitter emphasis on 'couple'.

"Uh-huh. Moving on to news that's even partially recent. Come on Darcy, I've got class to go to and-"

"Did she heal you? Does she even know how you got your injuries?"

"Leave her alone, Darcy." Riven bit out; his hands clenching tightly around his sword, before he forced them to relax just enough to wield the sword to the best of his ability.

"Darcy, either just attack or go away. I'm not in the mood for this."

"_I_ attacked him, _I_ caused those injuries."

"Again, you're telling me something I already know." Musa snapped growing irritated with Darcy's mocking tone, her small delicate wings beating with her agitation.

"Don't you want to know why I attacked your boyfriend?"

"It's got nothing to do with her Darcy; this is between you and me." Riven growled, raising his shield as though that would protect them from Darcy's cruel words.

"He's not my-"

"Nothing to do with her?" Darcy snarled; eyes wild and furious. "You should have thought about that before you brought her into my bedroom!"

Musa's brow furrowed. She had never been in Darcy's bedroom, well apart from that time they broke into their room in Cloud Tower, but recently, no. Was Darcy senile? Did she not know what year it was? All of this was majorly in the pass. "I don't know what's wrong with you Darcy but you're completely out of whack."

"Oh no, what's out of whack is him calling your name while we're making out!"

Making out? Him and Darcy?

"That's why I hurt him Musa, because while I was with him, he was thinking about you! It's always been about you! Bet you didn't know he was cheating on you, poor child."

Musa stumbled back, mind reeling. Darcy and Riven were still together? After everything she had done to them and to him, he had gone back to her? What was he thinking? How could he? A searing pain bloomed in the region of her heart and she clutched it to hold back the pain, as though she could suppress it.

All the while she was vaguely aware of Riven talking in low undertones to a hysterical Darcy but the words were just noise in her ears. It was as though her ears were filled with water, she could see the mouths move but she couldn't hear what they were saying. But she didn't care what they were saying, that didn't matter. What mattered was that he had gone back, even after the spell had been taken off. She had consoled herself when she'd found out they were dating that he'd only been with the witch because of the spell but this just rendered that excuse useless. Because what it came down to was that he would rather be with a witch than someone like her. He might even love Darcy and that was enough to make her gag.

Her stomach churned as tears sprang to her eyes, everything felt like it was shattering, the world was crumbling around her, caving in and leaving her lost in the debris and she felt so hollow and numb, empty of whatever warmth had once filled her.

Riven's shout caught her attention and pulled her back to the present where Darcy was finally making her attack.

Freak out later, stay alive now; she ordered herself as she quickly pulled up her defenses making sure that Riven had his own shield out. She could have cloaked him in her shield, but she wasn't feeling that benevolent, besides he probably wouldn't appreciate it. Heck, maybe he was even on Darcy's side and this was just a ploy to get her out and attack her.

A sharp zing told her that Darcy's attack had been on target and she dropped her shield to soar into the air.

"What do you think you're doing?" Riven demanded.

At first she thought he was talking to Darcy and then she realized that, of course, he was yelling at her. "Flying!"

"How can I help you, if you're up there and I'm down here!"

"I don't need your-HEY!" she shouted rounding on Darcy, having just managed to miss an attack that had luckily gone wide.

"GET DOWN HERE, YOU DUMB STUPID FAIRY!"

At Riven's roar, she fired three successive magma orbs at Darcy before firing one at him for his insolent comment. She heard his sharp shout and she grimaced. "Oops!"

"MUSA!"

"Aw, poor lover boy can't protect you while you're up here. Too bad."

"I don't need his protection." Musa spat. She didn't need anything from him. "Boom blast!" she shouted as closed her eyes and concentrated on pulling her power from within. Red see through speakers, formed of pure energy materialized in the air and began to pump music waves directly at Darcy who blocked them easily only to retaliate by spewing out black matter.

Musa swerved away from it, knowing the black hole would swallow her into another dimension before she attacked with projectile missiles. A stray ray of pinkish energy hit her and pain blossomed in her side as she lost concentration and spiraled to the ground before righting herself and rising once more to face off with the wicked witch of darkness.

"So you broke up, big deal, get over it and move on."

"Have you moved on?"

"From what?"

"From him, of course. It's obvious you're in love with him, have been since Freshman year at school. Poor little fairy, what's it like to know that he comes back to me time after time, especially when he claims to be a good guy."

"Everyone makes mistakes," Musa pointed out. "That's obvious, since you were born." She fired another projectile and the witch screamed as it slashed her leg.

"You dumb little pixie!"

"It's fairy, get your species right, witch!"

"Dark wave!"

Musa pulled up her shield and blocked the attack before firing off more projectiles, circling the witch in order to find a blind spot she couldn't defend against but Darcy, being on the inside, had a smaller axis to spin on and wasted less energy. So Musa had to find a way to end this fast.

"Dark wave!"

"You keep trying to suck me into a vortex and I'm going to get pissed off! Speed beat!" she called out, summoning large a large boom box to play a fast paced beat that really got her moving.

Darcy watched as the fairy blurred in and out of her attacks, moving faster than she could anticipate which ended up with the witch spinning round and firing her energy constantly to keep herself covered. Flashes of light lit up the darkening sky as the attacks clashed and collided while they both tried to get one up on the other.

With both evenly matched, they were beginning to wear down when the sky suddenly darkened to a rich purple color and two figures emerged on the outskirts of the battle field.

Blue eyes surveyed the sight with disdain before they flicked to her companion. "Take out the fairy."

"Whatever you say Icy, you're the boss-lady."

Icy rolled her eyes at Stormy's quip before watching the blue haired girl fire a streak of violet lightning at the figure clad in red. It hit its mark and the fairy cried out in surprise, her back arching in pain, before she dropped limply to the ground.

* * *

Riven cursed as he watched the battle knowing there was nothing he could do but wait to see who the victor was but when the witches appeared, for the first time in his life, he hated the fact that he didn't have wings. He'd never felt so helpless in his life. He had always been in control, able to take on anything and everything because everything had a pattern that just had to be figured out before it could be solved. That was the way life worked. It was one big puzzle. Once the code was worked out, everything was fine.

But as he watched Stormy attack Musa from behind, he realized that life was never as simple as he had always figured because he had never taken into consideration just how dangerous emotions were. Even when you tried to block them out, they crept up on you making you feel things you shouldn't, making you want to do things you couldn't. Such as switching places with an injured fairy falling to her death.

"Damn you, Musa." he choked out as she raced out into the marsh in some futile attempt to catch her.

He wasn't sure what happened, maybe fate had taken pity on him just once or maybe Musa had awoken long enough to catch herself mid flight. Whatever it was, it happened and Musa dropped directly into his waiting arms. Clutching her to his chest, he examined her wounds shrewdly. Nothing she couldn't heal from, mainly just superficial flesh wounds that could be healed by the ointments that the fairy nurse had given him for his and the back wound was just a shock to her system. She'd simply fainted, that's all. Lucky imp.

Her skin was paper white, her eyes closed so that her lashes rested like inky crescents on her cheeks while her lips were pale and no where near the vivid color that always tempted him. She was a dead weight in his arms, showing no sign of stirring but her pulse was there, strong and steady. She'd be fine; he just had to get them somewhere safe.

He turned and began to wade back out of the water, ignoring the way his trousers clung to his legs like a second skin making it harder to move. It was slow going but he finally got to the bank.

"Now where do you think you're going?"

He froze and glared up at Icy. "For a walk, you?"

"You know, I always liked you… you were ok for a hero. But you had so much potential, if only you weren't contaminated. Now drop the girl, we have business to take care of."

"Over my dead body." Riven growled; carefully laying Musa down so he stood before her, brandishing his sword.

"That can be arranged." Darcy sneered, eyes flickering with intense hatred.

"Let's just go, I'm tired and there's this cute guy-"

"Stormy." Icy growled. "This is a chance to take out a member of the Winx club."

"But she's weak; she's not even one of their attackers."

"Think of the grief they'll feel because we killed their precious friend."

"I want her dead!" Darcy screamed. "If I can't have him, then he shouldn't have her."

"Oh, get over it, Darcy."

"You get out of my face Stormy; I want to kill her Icy."

Icy held up a palm to stop their annoying squabbling. "If anyone is going to take the kill, it will be me. I'm the leader."

"Gentle Lullaby." A voice whispered.

Riven glanced over his shoulders to see Musa, braced sluggishly against a near by tree glaring up at the trio, hands holding a flute to her lips. Musical notes weaved out of the metallic instrument, producing a soft, gentle music which caused, he noted, the witches to become slower and slower, their words dragging out and their movements becoming lethargic.

"Come on." Musa growled, "that won't hold them for long and we have to get away from here."

"We can't head back to the translocator, that's where they'll expect us to go." He decided, scooping her up in his arms, cradling her closer.

"Right- Hey, I can walk."

"Walk yes, but we need to move fast and you shuffling along won't get you anywhere."

"I don't need your help."

"Tough, you've got it for the moment. Look, Musa, I'm not going to argue about this now."

Scowling at him, she allowed him to lead her into the forest.

* * *

The woods were alive with light as luminaire plants unfurled their petals and shot jets of scarlet embers into the night sky, fireflies moved with grace through the scented air while strobes of light danced over the tree trunks. For the first half hour, Riven had thought the lights to be people with torches only for him to realize that they were just the lights from glowing plants. There were plenty in the centre of the woods that encompassed the black mud swamp.

"We're lost, aren't we?" Musa asked from behind him. She was stumbling along behind him, refusing to accept his help.

He cast a cursory glance at her before shrugging. "I don't recognize the place but we can set up camp here."

"Shouldn't we continue on, there has to be a translocator around here somewhere; the Black Mud Swamp doesn't last forever."

"Yes and while we're looking, you'll keel over. You need rest." he stated grimly, refusing to look at her.

"And while we're sleeping, Darcy will come along and finish us off!" She snarled petulantly, folding her arms and biting back a whimper as she felt a sting of pain.

"I'll keep watch."

"That makes me feel so much safer." she quipped dryly.

"For Magix sake Musa, I'm not going to hurt you."

She met his blistering gaze with cool eyes. "You already have."

Saying no more, she stomped off through the flowers towards the edge of the clearing.

"Musa, we need to set up camp."

She rounded on him, eyes flashing as she glared at him. "Why here?"

"Lots of reasons." he told her warily. He just wanted the day over. He just wanted out of here and away from her. "The trees for one provide cover, the witches won't attempt to fly in, there's light, a stream nearby, the spiders and frogs don't like the light either, reminds them of fire which is another reason for here. Those flowers look so much like fire, that if we were to set one up, no one would be any wiser."

Why did he have to make good logical points? She knew this was why he would make a good hero, he may not have any emotions but he knew how to use his environment to his advantage. She'd never think of things like that.

"You need to recuperate and get those wounds cleansed; I'll go gather some logs and water. You can just find a place to sleep."

She moved to a small alcove and settled herself on the ground, pulling her knees up to her chest as she changed back into her normal form -wings were sore to lie on. She shouldn't be so hard on Riven; it wasn't his fault he didn't care about her. She couldn't force him to have feelings and if he suddenly decided he did just to placate her, well what sort of relationship would that be. Yes, she cared deeply for Riven; probably loved him for some sick reason and that meant that she wanted to be with him, not some false pretense. She accepted that he was arrogant; sometimes it was fun to just push him to see how far he would go with his attitude. She liked to tease or maybe flirt was the word with him when he was in his, 'I'm too cool' moods. It was funny just to see if he could keep up the act. Sometimes he even looked vaguely amused.

She liked his mind, even when he was being a git, he was still really smart. He may not have Timmy's smarts but he certainly could think on his feet and that kept her on her toes. No one ever gave her back as good as they got, she was always looking for someone who could keep up with her sarcasm. Then there were his looks, they couldn't be denied but she liked to take pot shots at him because sometimes he could be incredibly vain about them.

At least when he had been with Darcy, he had been nice and that just wasn't Riven. Even with the boys, who she knew he cared for deeply as a brother would, he was never nice. He was… Riven. He couldn't pretend to be anything else unless he was under a spell.

A twig snapping caught her attention and she looked round to find Riven striding through the flowers looking for her. He dropped the logs and the pan of water, and cursed, raking a hand through his hair.

"Now where has that damn pixie run off too?"

She rose slowly to her feet and approached him, leaning against a tree as she watched him look around the clearing. He obviously was wondering what direction she'd gone, how long ago she'd gone and whether or not he should take after her. She figured he would. He had too much honor not to. He was after all, a hero in training.

"I didn't run off anywhere." She finally spoke up and he whirled to face her, eyes darkening with temper. "And I'm not a pixie."

"What are you doing over there?"

"I thought it would provide some shelter and we'd be out of sight in case anyone…" she trailed off uncertain now that he was scrutinizing her with those intense amethyst eyes. They seemed to burn right through her in the warm red light provided by the shooting embers.

"Makes sense. Grab some of those logs." he ordered, picking up the pail and the tucking a few logs under his arms before moving into the alcove.

"But I'm injured." she pointed out, before submitting under his piercing gaze. She grabbed the remaining logs and helped him create the basis for a fire. Then she watched with some surprise as he picked up a rock and began to strike it off another. A spark flared and latched onto the dry briars he'd used as kindling. The flame flickered before it began to feed steadily off the sticks that were gathered around it.

"Did you learn how to do that in Red Fountain?"

"Survival training camp. You won't always have the necessary tools with you if you become stranded in the middle of nowhere." He replied, dusting off his hands as he rose to his feet. He turned to her and looked her up and down. "You need to get those wounds clean."

She nodded and headed to the pail of water before looking round for a scrap of cloth to act as a bandage. A tear sounded close by and she looked up to see Riven holding a frayed strip of white cloth out to her. His gaze was averted out to the forest as though he could hear something she couldn't, but she accepted the strip because she wasn't going to ruin her own top.

"They're probably looking for us, don't you think?" she wondered as she dabbed at a wound on her arm, hissing at the sting of water touching the tender raw flesh.

"Of course they are."

"How will they find us?"

He blew out a breath and slid down to the earth, his butt bone jarring off the hard ground. He tilted his head to gaze up at the sky. The navy twilight was speckled by millions of silver pinpricks. The tree limbs, bare and slender looked ominous and threatening in the flickering lights that cast shadows over the clearing they had found. The others were bound to be looking for them, after they hadn't shown up some alarm would have been raised. After all Darcy had shown up at his dorm looking for him. He was just lucky Musa had found him when she did, and still, after finding out everything, she had fought for him.

He flicked a glance over at her. She still hadn't broached the subject of Darcy, on their escape route she had talked about everything and anything but Darcy or the fact that he had gone back to her and he wanted to explain. He wanted her to ask so that he could justify himself which he shouldn't have wanted to do, why should he have to answer to her? And yet, just existing, she caused him to justify his actions. He'd hurt her so much in his life and it still shocked him, and awed him that she continued to care about him. He just didn't understand her. How could she care about him?

A sharp hiss broke him out of his reverie and he jerked his attention to her. "How're the wounds?"

"Superficial. They'll be gone in the morning." He quirked a brow and she elaborated. "My Winx form takes the brunt of the damage."

"I'm… I'm sorry about that."

She gave a subtle shrug. "It's your life, Riven. You make the choices."

"Yeah but I didn't choose to get you involved."

"Well, what's done is done." She murmured. "I'm going to go to sleep."

He watched as she climbed to her feet and shuffled to the back of the alcove, pulling out her blanket from her backpack and shaking it out, she laid it on the hard earth. She curled up on the makeshift bed and drifted off to sleep, not noticing the longing look that Riven sent her.

But her eyes snapped open when she felt his presence closing to her. She looked up the length of his leg, his narrow hips, tapered waist, broad shoulders and chest to that arrogantly handsome face and she felt her chest constrict.

Out of suspicious eyes, tinged with a flare of panic she watched as he crouched beside her, face illuminated by the flames.

"It'll get cold later." he said in answer to her silent question and she rolled over so that her back was to him.

She wanted to sleep. Couldn't he understand that she couldn't when she was so aware of his presence? The nerves along her back had suddenly come to life, tingling insanely. Her body arced away from his maddening presence in an effort to retain some control and yet, part of yearned to move closer to his warmth.

* * *

He poked at the glowing embers with a stick and a flurry of sparks flew into the night as a log broke and he replaced it with another he'd gathered earlier. At his side, Musa slept soundly, her head on his chest and her breath scorching through the thin cotton material of his t-shirt. It was rather distracting but at least it served to keep him awake. She wouldn't be pleased to find out that she had curled closer to his warmth, but he figured this was a good idea. Being close to him would help her enfold him within her protective cocoon.

He watched her sleep and sighed. This was turning into one big mess. It was bad enough that Darcy had let slip about the two of them but to mention that he had called her Musa… that was something he wasn't going to be able to wriggle out of. The problem was that she was the reason he returned to Darcy. Every time he felt that distinct itch in his gut, he went to her because she was willing to let him take out his sexual frustrations on her. Musa certainly would have some objections if he came up and kissed her out of the blue, or stroked her cheek, her lips, or even the column of her throat. He bit his tongue hard enough to taste the coppery substance. Musa was a distraction he could ill afford. He didn't have fairy tale endings; he had let Musa down too many times for her to even consider trusting him with her heart.

He had joined the witches, he had been cruel to her and he had turned his back when she needed him the most, and during that time, he knew that she had been worried about him. His friends had pretty much told him about Musa's reactions to him insulting her and ignoring her, he also knew that she had been worried about him when he'd gone missing. After everything he had done, she had still cared and she forgave him. How could he live with the guilt of knowing he hurt her? How could he possibly be with her when he was no where near man enough for her?

"I'm sorry Muse, really sorry." He muttered turning his attention to the night sky.

He wondered if she knew that her hair smelled of blackcurrants. Probably. Dammit, it was all her fault. He could remember the first time that she had sent that shock through his system, the violent jolt that had caused his nerves to sizzle heatedly. It was that day here, when he had crashed the jet and the troll had escaped. Just after that, when they were leaving the girls back to their class, she had made some comment about walking the girls back and she had looked directly at him, with those sparkling eyes and that amused smile playing on her lips. Something about her, right at that moment had dug a hook in his mind and he hadn't been able to shake it loose since.

"Stupid pixie."

He stroked a hand over her hair, moving it out of her pretty face that was calm as she slumbered. Unable to help it, his hand moved from the silk of her hair, to the satiny softness of her skin, over the firm suppleness of her lips, the delicate line of her throat. He swallowed hard. She didn't stir and he knew he shouldn't go any further but this may be his only chance.

Before he could stop himself, to even begin to tell himself how bad an idea this was, he leaned forward and brushed his lips lightly over hers. A shock vibrated through his lips as though he'd received a mild electrocution.

He jerked back and blew out a breath as his heart jack-hammered in his chest and his blood pumped fiercely. It had to be from a lack of sleep; it was making him hypersensitive to her. He shifted until he was comfortable and, with an arm curled around her, he rested his cheek against her head, skimming his fingers against the smooth skin of her side. He would be up before she awoke, he told himself even as he began to give into the seductive pull of sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Winx

* * *

Unattainable

When Musa awoke, she was alone in the clearing and for a few disorientated seconds, she wondered just what she was doing in the Black Mud Swamp. There was no logical reason that she could see until she remembered how she had gone back for her bag only to encounter Riven and then Darcy had attacked.

Darcy, who had been seeing Riven without any of them knowing. Darcy who claimed that Riven had called out _her -_Musa's- name during a make out session.

She sat up suddenly. Why would Riven say her name while kissing Darcy? Why would he even think about her? She couldn't see one good reason as to why he would be thinking of her. She hadn't done anything or said anything to him before that day she'd found him injured. She really couldn't see why on earth she would have…

"Oh for shits sake," she quoted a term she'd heard on earth, knowing it was tamer than some she'd heard on the grounds at Red Fountain.

He hadn't been thinking about her at all, he'd been using her as an excuse to make Darcy break up with him. Obviously, he couldn't break up with her; that would be suicide. Darcy would never live it down if she was dumped by a Red Fountain hero. Oh no, that would be a serious social faux pas, so naturally, Riven being the strategist that he was, said Musa's name so that Darcy would believe that he was cheating on her and dump him. Not the smartest thing to do given the fact that she had beat him senseless and tried to do her in too, but Musa supposed that Riven couldn't have known that Darcy would have found them in the swamp together. Nor did he fully understand young females. It wasn't really his fault; he was just being a stupid guy.

However, despite the intelligence of the plan or the lack of it, he had inadvertently pulled her into his harebrained scheme and had got her in trouble. And she couldn't help but feel used by him.

She swept the clearing with her gaze and frowned. Where was the search team? Why hadn't Professor Palladium used the Translocator? Why hadn't she used a spell?

"I am such a dummy!" she declared, getting to her feet and dusting herself off. Her stomach gurgled in protest. It probably thought her throat was slit, she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday and she was getting kind of hungry.

So all she had to do was find that idiotic twit who'd gotten her into this mess and translocate them out of here, right after she discovered what the heck he thought he was playing at. Why would he purposely incur a witches wrath, that was just plain dumb.

Actually, where was he? She remembered falling asleep listening to the crickets and other creatures that dwelt within the marsh but here she was alone. He wouldn't have headed back home without her, would he? No, no, he definitely wouldn't. But what if he had? She'd given him a hard time last night…

What if Darcy had caught him? If she had, he would be in serious trouble. There was no way Darcy was just going to let him get away with what he had done. The strange thing was that Musa felt that Darcy actually had cared about him, to some degree. If she hadn't, she wouldn't have been nearly as upset as she was. The opposite of love wasn't hate; it was indifference and if Darcy hated him, then that meant she still cared. And that put Riven in real danger.

"Damn." She'd have to go look for him, rolling up her blanket; she shoved it in her backpack and slung it over her shoulder, checking her bandage briefly to make sure that her wounds had indeed healed. Her back was still stiff and sore from the hard ground and the sucker punch from Stormy, but other than that, she was pretty much back to normal.

She stomped her way down the path that wound between the flowers that unfurled to shoot streams of red sparks into the air. Coming to a large wall with a tunnel through it, she paused and tried to spy through it. White light beckoned her and assured her that the tunnel wasn't long. Stepping inside, she placed a hand on the damp, gritty wall, balancing herself on the curved ground.

Her feet echoed hollowly within the tube before she came to the end, her eyes blinking against the bright rays of sunshine. Blue spots bloomed before her vision and she immediately hurled up her shield until she could adjust to the brightness. She'd learnt her lesson yesterday when she'd almost been attacked by that frog and there were worse things in the swamp.

Deciding the path was clear, she ventured out into the heavily wooded area. Trees, dead and decaying were littered along the path, casting shadows on the path, grass that was more yellow than green grew in clumps along the base of the trees. It was an eerie place and there were so many places for things to hide.

Cautiously she began to follow the worn path, tuning her ears to sounds that were out of place in the noisy swamp.

She bit back a scream as she was yanked roughly into the dense foliage and a hand clamped over her mouth. She could feel someone's hot breath on the nape of her neck and her back stiffened in fear. Something acrid coated the back of her throat and she began to tremble violently.

"Musa, what are you doing out here, you dumb pixie!"

She slumped in relief and a smile curved her lips. Never had she been so pleased to hear that insult, even as her skin tingled as Riven's breath tickled her ear and his chest pressed hard against her back.

Then she realized that the heat at her back was intense and when he shifted, her bare skin brushed… _his_! Her eyes flew open and she jerked round to face him, stepping back to allow for some breathable distance. He wasn't wearing a shirt was the first thought that landed in her feverish mind before she quickly shoved it away as she averted her gaze to his face. His hair was matted and plastered to his forehead and his face was flushed, his breathing irregular.

"What have you been doing?" she blurted out before she could help herself. Besides it was better than allowing herself to fantasize about running her fingers over those defined abs, because even without getting a good look, she knew his torso was made up of tightly packed muscle.

He flicked his hand and his sword glowed neon purple within its grip. He swung it experimentally before regarding her with those intense purple eyes. "Practicing. Now what were you doing out here?"

Well she wasn't going to admit she was worried about him, because she hadn't been, much. "The air's too muggy out here to be doing anything strenuous." She pointed out in a conversational manner.

He gave a slight nod but didn't reply; instead he was watching her with those deep purple eyes. She bit her lip and looked away. He was making her edgy and that got her back up but… there was just something about the way he was watching her. With those fathomless indigo eyes, it was hard to look away and she needed to. Oh boy, did she need to get away from him.

Slowly, her heart pounding frantically at her ribcage, she began to back away from him. Only to find herself backed up against a tree trunk with Riven watching her the same way a hawk watched a mouse, predatorily and also intrigued. Oh Fergus's balls!

Her hand slipped to the column of her throat and she watched as he caught that movement, an almost imperceptible darkening of his features as they suddenly became solely focused on her. He stepped forward, his hands placed on the tree on either side of her face, as his body caged her in.

"What are you doing to me, Musa?"

She opened her mouth to retort, her eyes blazing with indignation at being accused of something she hadn't done, hadn't even known she'd done when she was stopped abruptly. And quite surprisingly by his mouth on hers. She didn't know what he was up to but his mouth was pressed furiously against hers. There was no persuasion, nothing floaty or romantic about it, which she had figured were integral parts of her first kiss and instead it was hard and brutal.

Exciting.

With a groan, her head fell back, her fingers digging into the rough bark as his body pressed closer; hard, lean and tense. She didn't have a chance to reject it or rebuke his advances and even if she could, she didn't think she would have.

"Open your mouth." he rasped, voice hoarse and heavy with passion.

She tried to shake her head, to clear it in the slight reprieve and yet… When she didn't obey, he punitively bit her lower lip and when she gasped; his tongue glided over the small wound to sooth it. A soft whimper escaped her lips as she tilted her head up higher to give him better access.

He took it.

He plundered her mouth, his tongue plunging in as though seeking something within the moist depths of her mouth. A growl sounded low in his throat as his hands moved to clasp her face, his long fingers threading into her hair causing her to shiver with delight. The friction of his calloused thumbs stroking of her skin caused her to murmur in appreciation as her tongue tentatively slid against his.

Something happened then; to him, to her, she wasn't sure. It was like a lightning bolt struck through her, white hot and lethal and the kiss intensified. Until it wasn't just his mouth on hers, but his lips, tongue, teeth doing things to her mouth that shouldn't be possible and his hands were everywhere!

As the kiss grew dangerously out of control, his fingers bit into her skin and she jerked back but he moved in to follow her.

"Riven, don't!" she gasped; her hands coming up to lie on his chest to push him away.

She didn't manage to budge him very far but enough to get his distracting mouth away from her oversensitive skin. She shook her head to get rid of the fog that had clouded her mind. If it hadn't been for his lips, she wouldn't have forgotten her morals or the fact that he had been dating Darcy just last week. She wasn't a replacement for that witch.

"Sorry." Riven muttered curtly in a tone that said he wasn't very sorry at all, before backing away from her, his face closed and his eyes cold.

"I doubt that." She said softly; turning away from him.

He whipped round, his fists clenched and his face drawn. "What do you want from me!"

She gaped stupidly at him. What did she want? She wanted to be treated with just a little bit of respect. She wanted…_him_. She realized with a sigh. All of him, moodiness and short temper as well as that small pocket of sweetness that he hid from everyone for fear they would take advantage of it. She wanted him to kiss her like that because he wanted to, not because he was imagining she was Darcy.

"I don't want anything from you Riven. I'm not Darcy." She finally said, unable to really tell him how she felt so she simply said the words she knew would maybe make him think. Judging by his reaction, she figured she'd hit the nail on the head. He stepped back as though slapped and stared at her, almost appalled.

"I would never confuse you with _her_."

Musa swallowed the lump in her throat. And what did he mean by that? That she was a poor imitation; that she could never live up to Darcy's experience?

"What does that mean?" She demanded coldly.

"Nothing." He spat viciously, turning away from her. "We should go."

"You coward!" she shouted, striding forward and yanking his arm round to face her. "You are such a coward, Riven!"

His eyes sparked with fury. "Leave me alone, Musa."

"No, I want an answer. Why do you do this to me? What have I ever done to you to make you hate me this much?"

"I don't hate you!"

She stumbled back at the force of his temper. Her brow crinkled in confusion. "You don't?" Her eyes searched his for some hidden meaning. "Then why do you do this? Why do you constantly pull me down? Every time I think I'm over you, you drag me right back to square one all over again!"

"Because I love you!" He roared furiously, before his face drained of all its blood as he realized what he'd just blurted out in the heat of the moment. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, Musa was too floored by the statement to pay any attention to his expression.

Then her initial pleasure and surprise turned to fury and her fist whipped out, clipping him on the jaw hard enough to shock him into stepping back. "How dare you!" she seethed. "How dare you say that? You think by claiming to love me that will make me fall at your feet? Well you have another thing coming hot shot!"

Unbearably hurt by her words, by the lack of belief she had in him, he turned away from her. So she thought they were just pretty words to charm pretty girls? Well, that was typical of her. She was just the same as every one else. She just thought he was an emotionless soldier. He had thought she could understand him.

"If you love me, Riven; why were you with Darcy?"

Furious with her inability to see what was right in front of her; Livid with the fact that she probably could but didn't want to see how he felt; he rounded on her. Violence leapt off him in palpable waves, his eyes burned incandescently as he advanced on her, his mouth in a tight line until he opened it and everything spewed out venomously.

"Because you're unattainable to me, Musa. You're out of reach and Darcy was the next best thing."

"Darcy was the next best thing to me? How far away from my personality could you possibly get?"

He rolled his eyes at the immature reply. "She didn't care, Musa. She used me just the same as I used her. Emotions and personality didn't play into it. She was just handy."

"Handy… How can you say you love me when you could use someone in that way? And how the hell am I unattainable? I…" She broke off before she said something she'd regret.

"You, what?" he sneered. "You're a princess Musa; you couldn't be any more out of my league!"

She spluttered at that. Did she look like someone who cared about that? She didn't want a handsome prince, for goodness sake; she had enough of palace life at home. All those rules and obligations could get on her nerves; the last thing she wanted was a Prince to push all that into her private life.

"Out of your league? That's just a silly excuse Riven and you're full of them. You're just scared, you're scared stiff of opening yourself up to anyone and letting yourself care because the problem is, that you care too much! That's why you hide behind your attitude and you pretend you don't care in the hopes that you won't get close enough to anyone to let yourself care about them. You're a coward."

His nostrils flared in temper as he glared at her. "Call me that one more time Musa-"

"What, a coward? So you are. You-" she broke off on a yelp as he pinned her up against the tree. For a second she was seriously afraid that he might hurt her, but she covered it with bravado. "Oh yeah, I'm really feelin' the love right now. Well go on then, hit me!" She dared; her jet eyes becoming cruel as her lips curled in a sneer to disguise the frantic beating of her heart. Whether it was to do with his close proximity or actual fear, she wasn't sure.

Riven stared at her for half a beat, before he let out a sound of disgust and turned away from her but not before she saw the expression of self loathing on his face. She watched him walk away and let out a slow breath. Her eyes burned and deep inside, she felt a sense of loss. What had she done? Did he really… love her? Could he?

"Did you mean it?" she asked, her words carrying to him in the suddenly silent swamp. The muggy air made it hard to breathe as she awaited his reply.

Without even glancing at her, he replied. "Probably not."

"Ooh, Riven you make me so mad!" she shouted after him, before spinning on her heels and stomping away from him.

For a half second, he thought about letting her go but if she got lost, he'd never forgive himself. This made him more pathetic than a guy who had just confessed his love for a girl who didn't want to believe him. It was sickening and just reinforced his idea that it was better to keep your thoughts and emotions to yourself. No use sharing them where they weren't welcome. But on saying that, he chased after her.

"Don't be such a fool Musa, you'll get lost."

"Like you care!"

"I told you I do. So get your ass back here!" He called out to her as he watched her weave through the tree trunks ahead of him.

"Go away. You're such a jerk." Suddenly she whirled on him, drilling her finger into his chest, not minding the fact that there was nothing to separate her skin from his. "Do you like playing with people's emotions, does that give you some sort of cheap thrill?"

"What have I done now?" He demanded gruffly. "And if you poke me one more time Musa, so help me, I'll leave you here to rot!"

"I just bet you would, you jerk."

Moving too fast for her to see, he grabbed her by the elbows and yanked her to him. "Stop acting like a child, Musa. We have to head back to camp or the others won't find us."

"Not until we sort this out, once and for all. We're always dancing around this subject."

"What subject?"

"Do you love me or not? I just want a straight answer so I can move on with my life instead of staying in this limbo you've put me in."

His heart clenched painfully at the words she flung at him, as though they were actually hitting the muscle with force. "Forget about it Musa."

"No!"

"Yes! I've managed to keep my hands off you so far, and I'm-"

"You have your hands on me now and you kissed me earlier." She pointed out triumphantly, moving up on her tip toes to look directly into his eyes. There was great confidence to be gained from knowing you were putting someone else on edge. It was a nice feeling to have the tables turned.

He released her and backed away. "That was a mistake."

Now he was back in control of his emotions, it was easier to remain calm and to dismiss that brief moment of insanity. He had to, she was a princess and he was just a soldier, it couldn't be. No matter what she said, he had to remain the logical one. She obviously wouldn't. She was too passionate, too emotional and certainly not in control of anything. She got furious easily, she got riled up, and excited over the simplest of things. So it was up to him to cut things off now, to push her away and hurt her so that she would give him up because Musa was the type that wouldn't turn away from anyone, most especially him. It was the injuries, which led him to this moment of weakness. He'd allowed himself to rise above his station, to believe he had a chance with her. He really didn't.

"A really hot mistake." She replied pithily.

"Yeah well, what can I say? I'm just talented, comes with lots of practice."

Her eyes flashed now. "Practice with Darcy, you mean?"

"Sure, why not?"

She punched him again and he was getting a little tired of her doing it. If he really wanted to, he could stop her and yet, he knew that if she really wanted to hurt him, she could. He felt the breath explode from his mouth as her fist impacted with his gut. He doubled over slightly before recovering.

"Do that again, pixie, and I will hit you back."

"Whatever, jerk. I just hope the girls find me before I end up killing you." Her breath was clogging in her throat, her nose was prickling and her eyes were burning but she doubted they were suffering from the ball of fire that had suddenly made itself at home in her lungs. Why did it have to hurt so much? Why, if he loved her, couldn't he just admit it? Why did he have to complicate things?

Sky had broken off his engagement with Diaspro for Bloom and Stella was perfectly happy with Brandon who was a squire, why couldn't things be just as perfect for her? Maybe her life just wasn't supposed to be fair or good.

"So that's what Darcy meant." she whispered but the sound carried over the crickets and hornets. "So lemme guess. Darcy was getting too close and you freaked out and decided to just drop my name into the mix just to get her off your back."

He froze; his shoulders tense and his jaw clenched rigidly. "Don't do this Musa."

"I just want a reason for why she attacked me. I don't blame you. Naturally, you couldn't possibly have known I'd be in the swamp and you certainly couldn't have known that she'd turn up just as I retrieved my bag." She declared as nonchalantly as possible despite the hurt that was welling up inside her.

"Leave it alone, Musa. For your own good, just leave it alone." Where were the boys? Didn't they understand how dangerous this was? He couldn't be left alone with her. There was too much temptation. She was so close, he could reach out and touch her, run a finger tip down her cheek. He knew now her skin felt as soft as it looked, that her lips tasted of mulled wine and were completely pliant under his.

There was a strain to his voice than made her body react violently, a thrum of pleasure mixed with anticipation passed through her as she stepped closer involuntarily to see his face. His eyes were dark when they locked on hers and her stomach hopped deliciously. Tentatively, she stepped forward and something wild leapt into his eyes as he stepped back, reminding her clearly of a caged wild animal.

"Musa." he warned, his voice becoming hoarse as she continued to advance slowly on him.

"Anyone would think you were scared of me, Riven." She taunted and he bit back a snarl. She smirked at him and turned away towards the path that led back to camp. "By the way, I was never out of your reach. You were just too blind to ever notice."

"Don't kid yourself, Musa, you were pretty obvious." He drawled, his tone dripping with malignant intent. If she was going to play with fire, she was going to get burned. That was how it was. He wasn't going to let her destroy the distance he'd set up between them. It was there for a good reason and it only had to last until he was graduated and then he would be free of her once and for all. If only she would just let it lie.

Musa didn't bother to glare at him, though his comment stung. What girl wanted to be told that the guy she had had a crush on knew the entire time. _I bet he had a right laugh about it_, she thought pathetically. _Probably made fun of me with his friends_, she added snidely before blushing, that was unfair to Sky, Brandon and Timmy. They were her peeps too and they were good guys. They were Riven's redeemers. She had always figured that if he could ensure their loyalty, then he couldn't be all that bad. They were why she had looked harder at him, instead of letting him push them all away.

They were dead!

She had to kill them. It was their entire fault her heart was breaking. And she'd have to kill Darcy too. After all, she was just going to gloat.

Imagine Riven would rather be with a witch he couldn't stand, than be with the girl he liked. That was so whack!

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry for caring. You obviously don't want my emotions, even though I was willing to give them to you without expecting you to reciprocate them. But you want to die alone, so who am I to ruin your life's ambition."

"You can't love someone and not want them to love you back, Musa. You're just opening yourself for a world of hurt." He said wisely, eyes somber and jaded.

Finally, she turned to him. All the fight had drained out of her leaving her empty and numb. Too much quarrelling in such a short expanse of time just wasn't good for her. She was short tempered sure, but there was a limit on how long she could keep the anger going and Riven exhausted her mentally and physically.

"So, maybe I wanted you to love me back, but I didn't expect it. All I wanted was for you to be happy. Whether that was with me or without me. But you don't want to be happy, Riven because you're scared that if you're happy and you let your guard down, you'll get hurt or something will happen that you won't be able to stop." She met his gaze now, her eyes filled with compassion but no pity. He wouldn't accept her pity, wouldn't want it and she could understand because she didn't want anyone's pity either. "But here's a newsflash. The world isn't under anyone's control; you have no power over fate or what happens. Neither do I, nothing, not magic nor will power can change how your life will play out. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride because who knows what's around the corner."

He felt open, laid bare before her as she stripped away all his defenses and left him staring at himself in all his ugliness. It was a scary thing for her to understand him so completely. She knew why he pushed people away, why he hid behind a mask of arrogance and that unnerved him.

"Oh never mind." Musa sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her bejeweled ear. "We better head back. I don't know any translocator spells, well not any that will travel this distance and carry both of us but I'm sure I can conjure a will-o-wisp to lead us to the guys. They're bound to have arrived here by now."

She was babbling to cover up the hurt, he knew her well enough to tell. However, he couldn't ease that pain anymore than he could relieve the constriction in his heart. He had his obligations and his pride and matters of the heart had no place in his world.

So instead of saying anything, he let her lead them back to their camp and he stored the scene that had played out in this swamp into a corner of his mind with the rest of the imprints of Musa he'd collected over the past couple of years.

* * *

**Well, I'm putting this up because this is taking longer than I thought. Musa and Riven are so bleedin' complex and kind of rebelling against my creativity. And since some people complained about the lack of length, I decided to just put this up. I hope you enjoy it. **


	3. Chapter 3

A.N. Wow I'm so pleased with howmuch people are liking this story. It's still not a one shot... I'm not good with one shots. On the bright side, it has been finished, it's just that I've been offline for the past two weeks so I couldn't actually post it. Not my fault, stupid farmer across the valley's fault but at least you know this has an ending. The series is actually coming to an end of Toonattik which means I'll get to see the ending. The game messed it up sticking loads of scenes together so it looked like one episode which it's not and Riven's come back, so much better in the show than the game.

But all your reviews have been so much appreciated. I really do feel glad that you're enjoying this. I wanna write more for Winx so I'll think up a couple of plots and maybe make a longish story. This should last about one more chapter... Um... Yeah three more scenes and big showdown, I love showdowns between these two. So much firework potential.

**I don't own Winx, no da!**

* * *

Chapter Three

"So, Riven said he loved you?"

Musa looked up dejectedly from the spiral bound notebook she was using to compose a song. She tapped her pen against the desk and smiled vaguely at Bloom who was sitting on Tecna's desk, swinging her legs and nursing Kiko on her lap. Her rich red hair fell in a glossy wave down her back, contrasting starkly with the vivid blue turtle neck she was wearing.

"Yup."

"Those were his exact words? You didn't just pick up something you wanted to hear, did you sweetie?" Flora probed gently. She was well aware of Musa's deep affection for the arrogant warrior. Maybe she had read between the lines not realizing that guys were very simple and tended not to use hints, not even obvious ones.

"It's hard to construe any other meaning from the words, 'I love you'."

"Whoa, he said that?" Stella demanded, honey eyes wide with surprise. Now that she wasn't expecting. Riven saying the big L word. God, Brandon would get such a laugh out of that, but she wouldn't say anything because she knew it would only come back to bite Musa on the ass. A good friend never purposely hurt another.

"Yeah." Musa mumbled, doodling apathetically in the margin of her note book which was already covered with little squiggles and musical notes. "But he says because I'm a princess, I'm out of his league."

A blonde brow winged up. "Honey, I am way out of Brandon's league but we're together."

"Yeah well, Brandon has a brain. Riven wasn't given one of those and if he ever did receive one, he wouldn't know what to do with it."

As Musa turned back to her note book, the other four exchanged glances. Tecna, who had been relatively quiet throughout the whole thing, simply let out a long suffering sigh. It seemed like Musa was back to pretending to hate Riven again and after spending years listening to her friend rant about how mean Riven was, she couldn't be blamed for disliking the dark haired warrior just a little bit. He really seemed to have no problem with hurting the princess of the Harmonic Nebula in order to save himself a world of grief. And the terrible thing was that they had a high percentage rate of living happily ever after.

"So, what are you going to do now?"

"Now…" Musa trailed off with a shrug. "I don't know. I told him we could be friends if he wanted. I think he needs a friend."

"He has friends, Brandon and the boys are his friends."

"They're also his classmates. Besides, you can never have too many friends."

Stella rolled her eyes and flipped her hair off her shoulder. "Oh well, if that's what you want. Though I don't see how the two of you plan to be friends what with all that sexual tension between you."

Musa flushed before furiously scribbling out the word sex on her notebook, listening to Stella and writing at the same time wasn't a smart thing. "We don't have sexual tension."

The girls exchanged a knowing look. You'd have to be blind not to see the obvious attraction between the pair when they were within snarling distance of each other. They always were sniping at each other; almost as though they were trying to let the other know they were there. It would be cute if they weren't in their late teens and still denying their feelings for each other.

"Well, life is short and with the Trix sisters being as they are, you can't take anything for granted." Bloom said softly. "Don't waste your life away waiting for him, Musa."

"Yeah, find another guy. A handsome prince."

Stella's eyes grew starry at the idea of Musa marrying a handsome prince and having lots of little Musa's and… Her eyes grew distant because when she thought of Musa's children, some of them had a tendency to resemble a chibified Riven in her mind.

"I don't want a handsome prince. I've been to the Balls and the conferences and you know what they're like, Stella. They want clones of their mother. Women who will sit in the throne by their side and give them lots of children; women who know when to keep quiet and throw great social banquets. I'm not like that. I want my own life and to rule my own kingdom when the time comes."

"Yes, yes, you want Riven. Shock of the century but here's the deal: He's not going to go near you because he knows he has you where he wants you, right under his thumb. You're just waiting there for him to decide that he can't live with his carnal desires for you-" Flora blushed heavily at Stella's words despite the fact that the blonde was delivering it in a brisk, business like tone and made her excuses to leave the room, "-and comes to you. And for all we know, he could have the restraints of a…" she tossed a hand out as though the word she was searching for would land in the palm of her dainty hand. "…well something that has impressive tenacity."

"Riven then?" Musa asked with a bemused arc of a brow. "The guy is pretty tenacious."

"And as stubborn as a minotaur." Stella agreed. "I don't know why you want him, Muse, but if anyone can handle him, it's you. So start handling him girl."

"Stell, I get what you're saying, really I do, but I just don't dance to that tune. I don't play with anything other than my guitar."

"Make him jealous Muse. Make him see what he's obviously missing; make him see what we see. You're funny and smart and loyal and there's a pretty cute looking guy in town who's always watching you when we visit."

Musa gave a reluctant groan of annoyance. Why her? She didn't even try to make guys notice her and she always seemed to pick up ones that she just wasn't interested in. She hated to let them down but she just wasn't going to have a false relationship. They were so empty.

"Maybe what Riven needs is a wake up call." Bloom began tentatively. "Perhaps if he sees you with someone else, it'll make him realize that he can't just wait around forever. That you're not going to wither away waiting for his affections."

"Or maybe he wants me to move on and then it'll just be proving that I'm just like every other female he's known."

"Oh poppycock!"

"Poppycock?" Musa asked dryly, before blinking out of her surprised stupor. "On second thought, I don't want to know. I don't care anyway. If Riven doesn't want to be with me, then that's fine. I don't mind being on my own."

"You will. I know women who've died of touch starvation."

"Don't worry Stell; you can touch me whenever you want." Musa declared with a glint of wicked mischief in her eyes.

"I might just take you up on that offer."

"Oh goodness me," Tecna muttered. "I'm going to the library. Our final exams are fast approaching, we can't spend all this time dillydallying."

The three remaining girls snickered as their friend left and Stella flopped over onto her back on Musa's bed. "Look Muse, you don't even have to do anything. Just go out one night with the guy in the café and leave the rest to me. Brandon will tell me if Riven has any reaction to it."

Musa leaned her head back to study the ceiling and whimpered mournfully. "But we know he likes me, he told me he loves… Maybe he's not _in_ love with me."

"Well, then we'll be able to tell by this experiment. If he's not _in_ love with you, he'll have no reaction to you going out with another."

Bloom shook her head. "I don't know Stella; I think this idea is a bit too flamboyant. Riven said he loves her, what will her seeing another guy help prove? It won't make him change his mind about wanting to be with her."

"Yes it will, not stop being so pessimistic. I know what I'm doing."

"Oh yes, Princess Stella, the love doctor is in the house." Musa quipped in a deadpan tone to Bloom who smiled.

Stella clapped her hands formally to get their attention. "Now first of all, we phone Callum and then-"

"How do you know his name?" Musa demanded with narrowed onyx eyes.

"He was my backup plan if things with Brandon went downhill."

The princess of the Harmonic Nebula squeezed her forehead gently. "Of course, he was. Why on Magix did I ask?"

"I don't know. Now after we phone Callum, he'll naturally say yes, he can't resist a pretty girl Musie, we work on your makeover."

"MAKE OVER? NO WAY!" Musa exclaimed jumping to her feet and dancing out of Stella's reach. "Not a chance, Stell, I will play along for the other jazz, but no way are you-"

"Oh come on, Musa. You've had that same hair style since you were two, you look twelve. Don't you want to look more mature?"

"No! I happen to like how I look. And what's wrong with my hair?"

"You look twelve." Stella repeated; flipping her long golden locks over her shoulder as her eyes narrowed. "How are you supposed to lure a man into an adult relationship when you barely pass for a teenager?"

Musa paused and caught her reflection in the mirror over her desk. Curiously, she tugged the tip of one of her bunches. "Do I really look twelve?"

"You just look young for your age." Bloom soothed. "That's a good thing."

"It's a great thing but with that hair style, well you can change it. Wear it down for a change; maybe do a little snipping here and there to give you a fresh punkish look."

Musa wasn't exactly inspired by Stella's pep talk. In fact, in her humble opinion, Stella shouldn't have been allowed to use the word 'punkish' in conversation because there was something so offensive about it to Musa's poor ears. But her friend looked so enraptured with the idea that Musa found herself unable to say no.

"Ok, but no cutting my hair."

"Ugh, like there's much to cut off it anyway. You should think about growing it. Long hair is so much more versatile."

"And too much work too. You must wash yours twice a day."

"Three times."

"And the green gunk?"

"Replenishes it with essential vitamins. Just trust me; I know what I'm doing. I practice on all the help at home."

"Oh goody." Musa grumbled before letting Stella lead her away while Bloom simply chuckled and went to phone Sky.

* * *

The next couple of days passed slowly and soon enough, Musa found herself returning from her date with Stella's back up plan as she had taken to calling him in her mind. He wasn't bad; he was actually a really good back up plan. He was charming, sweet and funny. He paid her loads of compliments and flirted with her, he essentially treated her like a woman which was nice and it just made Musa feel awkward. She wasn't used to be complimented, nor did she know how to respond to his flirting without blushing. When he mentioned a second date, she wondered just how to dissuade him and her palms were sweating with the idea of a good night kiss.

And the whole night, she spent the entire time comparing him to Riven. Riven wouldn't pay her needless compliments; he would talk to her about lots of things that had nothing to do with how nice her hair looked or how pretty her face was. All that sort of stuff meant nothing to her. A face was a face and the gleam of her hair wasn't going to stop evil monsters from attacking her kingdom.

And yet, Stella's back up plan was genuinely kind and uncomplicated. He wouldn't make her insides tie themselves in knots with a careless look nor would he give her sleepless nights. He wouldn't make her doubt her worth… and he wouldn't give her the strength to better herself. His eyes wouldn't burn into her soul and the quirk of his lips wouldn't make her breathless in anticipation of the full smile.

"Stella tells me you're an amazing singer, maybe you could sing for me sometime."

Yeah right, like she was going to give him a private concert. She inwardly flinched and groaned; now Riven had taken up residence in her mind and was offering very sarcastic comments in between her own thoughts. Though she had to admit, she sort of agreed with the aggressive warrior.

"I'm from the Harmonic Nebula; everyone is a good singer there." She told him with a hint of a smile. He was seriously cute. Dark brown floppy hair, kind chestnut eyes. A perfect replica of Brandon, which was probably why Stella had him lined up as a replacement should she need him.

"I guess, but I bet you have your own distinct style."

_Pathetic!_

She smiled now. It wasn't his fault that he wasn't Riven. Maybe if she had met him before Riven she might have been with him, and then again, she'd probably wouldn't be happy. As nice as he was, he was just too weak personality wise to suit her. She needed someone who would understand her temper and who wouldn't take any nonsense from her, she wanted someone who could handle her but in such a way that he wouldn't take control of her.

Alfea rose up before them and she turned to him, to say goodbye. She didn't want the girls to see them. She was well aware of how her friends would be spying on them from their dorm window. She had participated in that act enough when Bloom and Sky had started dating. It was naturally all Stella's idea but she couldn't resist a peek. Plus someone had to put on a deep voice and mimic Sky.

Since they couldn't hear the conversation, the girls had a tendency to make up their own conversation which usually sounded as though it came out of a cheesy romance film. She usually ended up being Sky while Stella played Bloom and Techna and Flora and some of the younger fairies laughed until their sides split at the ridiculous dialogue.

So because she knew what her friends would do, she made sure to stay out of sight. "Thanks for tonight, I really needed it."

"It was my pleasure. You're a great person Musa."

Some people don't think so, she thought sourly, her gaze flicking in the direction where Red Fountain could be found.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. Maybe we could do it some other night."

Musa opened her mouth to confirm that thought but found an image of Riven in her mind, telling her he loved her and she couldn't. She just couldn't lead Callum on like this. He deserved to be with a girl who would care about him as much as he did for her and Musa just wasn't that girl. She couldn't be with someone and be thinking of another. It just wasn't right.

"Maybe not." He replied reading the expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, Callum. You're great, I just… I'm not ready for this." No need to tell him she was in love with someone else, especially since that bastard was all caught up in his own little world of morals.

Callum nodded. "I figured as much. I stand by what I said, you're an amazing person. The guy that gets you will be incredibly lucky; I hope he'll treasure you."

Somehow she doubted that. "Ditto."

"Maybe we could be friends?"

_I could be your friend, Riven if you want._

_I don't need friends. _

_Everyone needs friends, most especially you. _

_Do you think we can be friends?_

_Yes, but whatever, if you don't want to be friends, then it's no skin off my nose._

"Definitely."

Before she could anticipate his next move, he lowered his head and caught her lips in a soft kiss. "Just for remembrance sake." He replied with a soft smile and she quirked her lips, unable to help it when one corner lifted involuntarily.

Without another word, he turned and walked away into the shadows. She watched him go before heaving a sigh and heading up to the gates of Alfea.

* * *

After fending off the questions of her friends on her almost-date with Callum, Musa sat down on her bed and sipped the lukewarm tea she had retrieved from the kitchen. She hadn't had time to drink it since she couldn't drink when trying to answer all the queries of her friends who had ambushed her when she had been sneaking into her dorm. Luckily Tecna was down in the library studying so Musa had some time to herself for a change.

Putting on some music, she slipped off the blouse she had worn and shrugged on a comfortable royal blue tank-top with a white spaghetti strap top beneath it. Her skirt soon followed to be replaced with a pair of loose cotton pajama bottoms but her hair would have to be ignored. It was still in the curled ringlets that Stella had managed to style it into when Musa had been frozen by a spell. It was highly unfair but since, some small female part of her had liked the look, she had kept it. But now the night was over, she scooped it back into a loose pony tail and brushed the cascading strands out of her face.

Gulping down the rest of the tea, she crawled into bed.

Only to be awoken by footsteps coming close to her bed. Her eyes snapped open and she took a few seconds to clear her brain. On the bedside table, a clock's hologram alerted her to the fact that she had been asleep only twenty minutes. She stilled her breathing, concentrated on making sure it sounded as though she was still asleep as she tried to make out where the intruder was.

It wasn't Tecna returning from the library. Tecna didn't sneak and her bed was on the opposite side of the room. And it wasn't a man's footsteps either, she told the part of her that hoped the intruder was Riven.

Heels.

Who wore heels-?

"Wakey, wakey, pixie!"

Musa rolled over and hit the floor hard. Just in time, she thought as she smelt the scent of burning fabric. Stunned, she looked over the edge of the bed at where Darcy stood on the other side sneering at her.

"Oh you woke up. Well, I guess that makes things just a little more fun and your little lover boy isn't here."

"What are you doing here?" Musa demanded; struggling with her sheets that were tangled around her feet. "Get out of Alfea, Darcy!"

"I want a rematch; our last one was rudely interrupted."

"No, you want me dead and I'm sorry, but I can't comply." Musa snapped; jumping to her feet and flinging up a barrier as Darcy fired a purple stream of magic at her.

"It's a fair trade. You took Riven, now I'll take you."

"I'm sorry, but I just don't swing that way."

Darcy's eyes burned darkly and another jet of a purple energy met with Musa's magic bubble, before fizzling and disintegrating. "He has to pay."

"Well go make him pay, why fight me Darcy?" Musa demanded.

"Because you are the only thing that means anything to him. Destroy you and he won't want to live anymore. It's a most fitting punishment, don't you think? I was oh so merciful with him. I was even willing to keep him away from the army of decay."

"You're one messed up chick, Darcy. You imprisoned him, you put a spell on him and in the end he still chose to fight on our side. You're a failure Darcy. If it wasn't for Icy, you'd have been put in permanent detention with your powers stripped a long time ago, because as far as evil people go, you're way down on the list. I'm more scared of the boogeyman than I am of you." Now Musa smirked and she shifted into her winx form, the feeling of her ear phones, her chunky boots and the strain of her fluttering wings comforting her. "Speaking of; Boogie blaster!"

She cast out a sphere of red light that materialized above Darcy's head as a disco ball and began to pelt the witch with energy pellets. Darcy cursed and rolled to the side.

"He came to see me the day we released the army of decay, he didn't seem that worried about you."

Musa kicked off up into the air. "Was that supposed to upset me? Key words, under a spell. Mean anything to you Darcy?" She rolled her jet black eyes and threw out another sphere of red light which Darcy countered with a ray of purple energy. "Leave Darcy, my friends will come for me at any moment."

"Your friends can't hear you. I found this nifty thing called a bubble spell; it keeps out all sorts of noises. Especially good for when you're doing something loud in your bedroom. I'd tell you, but you're probably not that sort of girl. Poor Riven just doesn't know what he's got himself into."

"Or maybe that's what Riven wants. You don't marry a common whore, they're just there for entertainment and you couldn't even do that." Musa spat out. Riven hadn't said anything about him and Darcy doing It.

When Darcy flung herself at her, Musa flew out of reach only for her leg to be grabbed and she was thrown into the wall. She collided against it with a hard thud. She slid to the ground, her body a crumpling underneath her as she tried to see past the scarlet blotches before her eyes. Her head ached and her body felt bruised, but she just didn't see why she couldn't get back up. In fact she felt as though she was sinking.

She gasped and her eyes fluttered open to see that she was sinking into a black pit of pitch darkness. "No!" She shouted, vaguely recollecting Bloom telling her about being caught in this black hole.

She began to struggle in vain as Darcy seemed to swell in height before her and the darkness seemed to encompass her. She had to get up. She couldn't just sit here and accept this. She was a member of the Winx Club. She was the princess of the Harmonic Nebula. She was a fairy!

Shakily, she began to reach up the wall, looking for something to hold on to, to pull herself up. But all her hand encountered was smooth plastered walls and her ankle throbbed viciously. Everything was so cold, icy numbness was seeping into her body and she began to shiver uncontrollably.

"No." She whispered through trembling lips. It couldn't end like this. "Please no, help!"

A curse ripped through the air and then Darcy was thrown out of her vision. Immediately the inky darkness enfolding her began to leak away. Soaked into the floor as Musa found herself sitting on the carpet of her bedroom floor. Moonlight was spilling in from the open window.

She scrambled to her feet, ignoring the stinging pain in her ankle as she tried to stand. Where was Darcy? She wondered, glancing about the dorm. There she was, in the corner of the room. Her hand held aloft, holding a dagger formed of pure energy. She swiped it down and it clanged off another weapon. A purple saber blade.

Riven!

Her heart cried out the name, but she squashed it sternly. There was no good going all gooey over Riven being here when he was clearly fighting for his life against a witch. So it was time to even up the odds.

"Darcy! You came for me, so let's dance." She called out, floating up into the air and conjuring a small ball of energy.

Darcy threw Riven off her and rounded on the fairy. "Big mistake, now Riven gets to see you die! Dark Wave!"

"Boogie Blaster!"

Both girls dived the opposing attacks and Darcy, seeing herself out numbered, threw herself out the open window. "Come get me fairy!"

Musa scrambled to her feet and lunged for the window only to be yanked back.

"Oh, no, you don't. We're not having a repeat performance of this again." Riven growled in her ear, his hand firmly locked around her arm. His eyes were hard and his mouth was grim. He was dressed in his uniform, the navy and white bodysuit and cloak of Red Fountain with his colored gem holding the cloak in place.

"Repeat of what?" She demanded, suppressing a shiver. She still wasn't quite warm, though Rivens' body heat at her back was driving away some of that intense coldness.

"You flying and me stuck on the ground."

"So? I can fight her."

"Until she beats you. Or do you not remember that impromptu sky dive and the sinking floor episode."

She hunched her shoulders. "I'll be fine. She had an unfair advantage. I won't let that happen twice in a row."

"I'm not letting you go out there, so call your friends."

"Where are you going?" she demanded.

"Out there." He replied as though it were the most obvious thing.

"Oh, no, you're not!" Musa snarled, grabbing his cloak. "We do this together or not at…Oh… I don't feel so…" She swayed uneasily on her feet and a hand lifted to her brow. "Oh, ouch."

"Damn it Musa." Scanning the room, he came across the alarm that Saladin and Faragonda had put in when the witches had invaded the school the last time. Sweeping her up into his arms, he laid her on her bed and crossed to the window. Closing it, flicking the lock and shutting the curtains, he pressed the security alarm. Immediately a wailing sound echoed through the ground but his attention was solely on the girl.

"You ok?"

She nodded grimly trying to sit up. "We have to-"

"You have to stay there." He bit out roughly. "Damn you Musa, you could have died tonight. Got locked away in that prison and never come out and none of us would have known where you were. Darcy's insane enough to keep you there forever."

"She'd have gloated; you'd have come for me."

Her absolute faith in him astounded him. She seriously believed that after everything they had been through over the years that if she needed him, he would come. And the truth of the matter was that he would come for her no matter what. But that was something he had worked hard to keep a secret. He was always reluctant to go anywhere and he made sure everyone knew just how reluctant he was when he tagged along to rescue the Jinx Club. It had gotten to the point when the boys sometimes didn't bother to ask him to come along anymore but then Brandon, who was always the most empathic of the group, figured out why he complained so loudly. Had she?

Or maybe when she said 'you' she meant the plural version, including the entire group who usually clumped together to form a bedraggled rescue party. That part wasn't so hard to believe.

"Yeah, well you're still a damn fool. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I didn't get to think much. She was in my roo- Hey, wait a minute, why are you here?"

He raised a brow and suddenly looked uncomfortable. He didn't think it would be right to tell Musa of how he hadn't been sleeping since that night in the swamp. Since that night he'd held her in his arms, he admitted. Maybe, if he blanked his thoughts he'd be able to sleep, he probably could actually but for some reason he liked letting his thoughts drift to her. Besides, nighttime was the only time he had to himself anymore. The classes were piling up and most of his spare time was spent studying or practicing.

"If it wasn't for me being there, you'd be dead. Why didn't you call for your stupid pixie frien-" he broke off as she flung a pillow at him and with a sweep of his hand, he knocked it away.

"I couldn't call them, she'd soundproofed the room."

"What about the security alarm? That wouldn't have been silenced."

Stalemate. Silently, they regarded each other. Both had points but neither was willing to allow the other to be right, that would be conceding defeat and neither of them could concede defeat to the other. That would be like relinquishing control.

"So what took you so long in getting in anyways?"

"Well if you hadn't locked the stupid window, I wouldn't have had to spend precious minutes picking it."

"Well how did Darcy get in if the window was locked?" She questioned puzzled; squirming under the duvet to try to create some heat. Usually her bed being cool was a relief, to just lie against the fresh, crisp sheets but tonight she longed for warmth to revive her chilled heart.

"She was probably in here, merged with the Shadows. She likes to do that, likes to frighten people."

The door burst open and Stella raced in, clad in a negligee with a skimpy gossamer robe pulled on over it. Her golden hair, the color of sunshine streamed behind her as she slid to her knees before her friend, hands clasping Musa's and amber eyes studying her with sympathy. Behind her, a sleepy Bloom clad in casual white pajama's followed with Tecna and Flora, both in casual nightwear, at her heels.

Immediately the dark haired nymph was barraged with questions about how she was feeling and what had happened in the previous moments. Musa smiled at them and reassured them; letting them tell her about how Professor Faragonda and Palladium drove off the insane witch. Riven scowled watching as they took all of her attention away from him, so that she didn't notice when he left through the window.

But she did, and her face fell slightly before she managed to perk up due to Stella's excessive bubbliness. Maybe Riven didn't care about her as she did for him, but he still cared enough to protect her and she would always have her friends; that was enough for her. It would have to be.

* * *

**Can someone give me spoilers for the second season between Riven and Musa, particularly on how they get together at the end, um some things about her father, I wanna know about this man and other stuff, like how Riven reacts to this Jared fella. He looks like a total wuss, no offence to the guy or anything. **

**Zadien over and out! **


	4. Chapter 4

Hey! The support for this fic has been immensed. I'm seriously overwhelmed. Thank you all very much. Mucho disappointed with the episode in which Riven comes back to Alfea after being rescued from Cloud Tower. Can we say, pathetic? Where was Musa's reaction? Rant continued at end of chapter...

* * *

Unattainable- And they lived happily ever after...

It had only been a few days since Darcy had attacked Musa in her room and on her first day out from after being confined to bed rest, the quintet was attacked by a muddy creature that looked to have come straight from the Black mud Swamp.

"Sun Power!"

Despite the gravity of the situation, Musa could do nothing but laugh as her friend powered up and still managed to have time to pose before she decided to attack the gruesome sludge monster that had taken them unawares.

"Sun Sweeper!"

Musa flung herself to the side and covered her eyes, making a mental note to tell Stella to at least warn them before deciding to blind them all with her attack.

"Alley-oop!" Tecna cried as she used her digital net, luminous green in coloring, to boost Bloom into the sky so that she could have a shot at its head. It was a faster method than flying and also gave Bloom a chance to really power up without worrying about beating her wings as well.

"Magma Rain!" Immediately burning coals began to pound down on to the creature; exploding on impact like miniature fireworks.

"Golden Pollen!"

"Thanks Flora!" Musa called out gratefully as a sweet sensation filled her senses and her weakening muscles suddenly felt relieved, no longer screaming in protest. "Boogie Blaster!"

"Oh this is just great! Every time we attack it, it just reforms." Stella grumbled loudly. "And it's really making me late for my date with Brandon!"

"And I wanted some time to get ready for my date tonight." Bloom lamented, shooting another ball of flames towards the creature watching as the hole formed before sealing over again. A clump of acrid swamp mud shot at her but she ducked and shot the creature a furious look. "I'm going to smell!"

Musa nodded. "Yeah this guy is so messing up our day. Just once I want a nice day out without being attac- Hey!" She dived out of the way of something green and slimy before rounding on the sludge monster. "THAT IS IT! No more Ms Nice Girl! Dance, dance, baby!" She snapped before firing red glowing musical notes at the monster, using her speed and her ability to fly to outmaneuver the creature as she sought a weak spot.

"We need to take this bad boy down and now!"

"He's charging for something." Flora called out, her own seed bullets doing no real harm except to annoy the creature.

"We need to heat him up until he bakes and then we crack him!"

Stella tossed a look at Tecna. "And how do you propose we do that?"

"Duh, you and Bloom have heat magick." Musa replied, swatting her blonde friend lightly and grinning at the belligerent look she gained.

"The magick will just bounce off him; we need a way to keep it constant." Tecna sighed defeated by her own logical thinking; then she brightened. "Musa, your magick travels in waves, right?"

"Sound waves, sure."

"Can you manipulate them?"

Musa nodded, hissing as a projectile flew a little too close to comfort for her. "Of course, that's what Sonic Blast does. Turns the air into an actual weapon. Why?"

"Can you conjure up a whirlwind?"

The blue haired fairy looked dubious before giving a shrug. "Given enough time, I guess."

"Good, I'll cover you. You girls keep him busy, when she pulls up the whirlwind, you two attack and I'll contain it with my barrier."

Flora frowned. She wasn't really needed so she'd play back up in case any of them needed her help, she decided as she floated out of the way shooting the odd sunflower projectile and ducking the opposing attacks. Then an idea hit her. "I can hold him still with my vines!"

"Good idea Flora."

Holding a palm up to her lips, the plant fairy blew out a strange neon green powder down onto the ground surrounding the creature. "Pterodactyl Vine!"

Immediately mutated vines of ivy began to burst from the ground; winding up to snake around the mud creatures' body. It roared and tried to move but the vines were acting like roots, holding the being in place.

Musa concentrated on the sound waves from everything in the countryside around her, the croaking of bull frogs, children's laughter, the buzz of insects, her friends breathing, the rustle of fabric, bird song, trees shivering, everything created sound and sound was her best friend.

"Sonic Waves," Motioning her hands and orchestrating the sound waves into a tangible form; she began to whisk them around on the ground surrounding the creature. Dancing around, holding her hands aloft, she began to raise the circling air. Music hummed through her, dramatic and fluid, she called to the air and pulled it up to form a silvery cyclone of air. "SURROUND!"

"Solar FLARE!" Light seared out of the silver staff the golden fairy wielded before whipping around the creature, caught within the whirlwind, causing the creature to shrink back with an inhuman scream of agony.

"Dragon Molten," Bloom spiraled to the ground, a dragon of fire wrapping around her like a slithering snake. Hitting the ground, she splayed her hand on the ground and the dragon wound down her hand, like a flaming ribbon, seeping into the ground. The ground began to shake dangerously as Bloom stood slowly. Standing erect, legs braced apart, she flung her hands towards the sky. "ERUPTION!"

With an almighty roar, the dragon of fire burst from the ground, carrying rocks and larva up into the wind tunnel created by the cyclone. As the raging flames circled the writhing demon, its anguished screams were drowned out by the roaring rush of blazing heat. The girls backed off, shielding their faces.

"World Wide Web!" Tecna called out, weaving a green net around the creature holding in the flames that were demanding to be released. "Keep it up girls."

All four of them bit their lips and tried to contain the volatile mixture. Strain had perspiration breaking out on their foreheads but they prevailed, keeping the intense fire inside before, under Tecnas' orders, Bloom commanded the fire to disperse and Musa dispelled the wind while Tecna broke the barrier. As the smoke cleared, the creature could be seen standing stiffly in the clearing, crumbling at various points.

Floating to the ground, Flora clapped her palms. "Terrain Tremor."

A gentle shaking covered the land and the creature began to quake, crumbling as the vibrations moved up its body. Soon it was reduced to dust and the five girls powered down.

Stella swiped a hand over her brow and groaned. "I can't meet Brandon like this."

"Sorry kiddo, guess you're going to have to go back to Alfea and wait until tonight." Musa replied, smothering a yawn.

"Are you still not going to the cinema with us tonight?"

"Sorry, I think I'll take a rain check and get some sleep."

"Are you still having nightmares?" Flora questioned gently as they began to follow Stella and Bloom out of the woods. Tecna was bringing up the rear after collecting a sample of the dust to analyze it later.

"Yeah but Ofelia gave me a sleeping draught so hopefully that should help keep me zoned out."

"This is all Darcy's fault. If she hadn't snuck into your room, you wouldn't be having these nightmares. I really wish I could tear that witch's hair out."

"I'm sure you could, it's pretty long."

"Do you think Riven goes for long hair-" Musa asked before freezing, eyes wide and stunned. Her expression darkened petulantly. "Oh hell. I need sleep."

Stella giggled at her friends question and replied with the same answer Musa always gave her when she was spazzing about her own looks -which didn't happen very often. "Muse, you could be bald and the guy would still like you."

"Hmm."

Sighing, Stella pulled her hair out of her face and slowed her pace, forcing Musa to slow down while the others wandered ahead. Despite how ditzy and self absorbed Stella liked to appear, she had a real soft spot for Musa. Out of the entire group, they were the ones who weren't afraid to say what they really felt. If something was stupid, then you could be sure they would be the ones to comment on it. And since their childhood, they'd formed a tight bond when they had to go to the royal parties. Musa was the one to give overeager boys the evil eye when they wouldn't take the hint that Stella wasn't interested or taken as was the case now; and Stella was the one who made up excuses so the two could get away early. It was a perfect companionship.

"Look, he told you he loved you, right?" When Musa nodded, Stella gave her a pointed look. "Then what's the matter? I hate to see you like this. Once upon a time you were totally indignant when anyone even raised the idea that you might even like Riven."

"Yeah well no one was fooled by that act; it was a waste of energy."

"Yeah, it was kind of obvious."

Musa muffled a whimper behind her hands which covered her face. "I just need some sleep. Once I get a good night's sleep I will be back to normal."

"Sure and nights pass quickly and before you know it, Riven will have graduated and you'll never see him again."

Musa flinched. "You caught that, then?"

"Musa, despite our obvious differences -i.e. the fact that I would never be caught wearing a pair of jeans with holes in them- I've known you since I was three. There's not much you can hide from me."

"If I remember correctly, you pushed me flat on my face in front of everyone!"

"Yes, I did. And then you punched me."

Musa grinned. "Yeah you cried like a baby."

"I'd never been punched before." Stella declared indignantly.

"And then when Amaryl called me fat, you bitched slapped her."

"Yeah, she never forgave me for that." The blonde Solarian princess murmured thoughtfully.

"She had a hand print on her face for days; of course she wasn't going to forgive you. She was entered in the Little Miss Magix Pageant."

Stella tilted her head to the side as she tried to remember. "Really? Pity I was sick, I could have entered and won."

"I think Diaspro won."

"Ugh, she was so stuck up."

"Was that why you were so eager to meet Prince Sky?" Musa enquired slyly, remembering just how the two blondes had disliked each other because each considered the other to be their rival in the looks department. While Diaspro had the regal looks, Stella's sunshine beauty could not be denied. Added to the fact that Stella's empire was bigger than Diaspro's, it was easy for Diaspro to hate Stella.

"Well she talked about him constantly; it was like my duty to save him from her."

Musa cackled wickedly, leaning against her friend as the others shot them bemused looks. "And then Bloom kicked her pussy ass all over Red Fountain and won Sky's heart and you found Brandon, so it all worked out."

"Too true. Plus Bloom is much better for him."

Bloom, hearing her name, looked over her shoulder. "Who are you talking about?"

"Oh we're just talking about how you kicked Diaspro's ass." Stella replied airily.

A dark look crossed the red heads face. "Oh she deserved it. Imagine thinking that Sky would be happy with her."

"Well they were engaged, it wasn't like she was an evil psycho stalker."

"Key word, _were_."

"Ooh, haughty Bloom. I like, I like!" Stella exclaimed cheerfully, while Musa snickered at the blush that suddenly overcame their friend. "You'll make a great Queen, Bloom."

"Oh be quiet. I'm not going to be a stuck up Queen. Once Sparx is back up and running, I'll rule it with a fair hand and let my people have as much of a say as possible."

"Yeah but your people Bloom, they're ghosts." Stella pointed out.

Bloom sighed dejectedly. "Yeah, well I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

"Sorry Bloom, I didn't mean to bring down the tone of the day."

"No, these are things I have to keep in my head. But just not today, so how about we head back to the school, get cleaned up and go out for lunch."

Musa was about to nod but a yawn forced its way out of her mouth and she sighed. "I don't think I can stay awake much longer. I think I'll just get a shower and head straight to bed. Maybe I'll be able to sleep a while now and then take the sleeping potion tonight."

"Then you should be refreshed and back to our old Musa."

With a nod, Musa muffled another yawn and let her friends lead her back to her dorm.

* * *

Riven entered his dorm room to see Brandon sitting on the bed putting away his holophone. He frowned. Wasn't Brandon taking the loud mouthed blonde on a date or something? He was pretty sure he had the dorm to himself, so why was Brandon still here? He glanced at Helia who was sitting in the corner with a notebook in front of him but the dark haired warrior had nothing to say for the situation. He simply gave Riven a slight shrug before returning to studying his notebook with a deep fascination.

"Why are you here?"

Brandon rolled his eyes. He didn't think he'd ever get used to how rude Riven could be, especially after having just talked to Stella; it was just a stark contrast.

"Stella needs a rain check, she and the girls got into a fight with a mud monster."

"Girls?" Riven asked warily, his eyes already moving to the window that looked in the direction of Alfea as he pondered just how long it would take him to get over there and give that pixie a damn good shake.

"Yes, you know Stella's friends. You've met them a couple of times. They go by the names, Bloom, Flora," Brandon quickly cast a glance at Helia, noting the way the dark haired boy tensed. "Tecna and this name might be particularly familiar, Princess Musa of the Harmonic Nebula."

Riven grit his teeth. "I know who her friends are."

"Then why did you ask?" Helia wondered, not bothering to look up as he scribbled out a word and replaced it with another. Sometimes he couldn't get the beat, words with extra syllables took up too much space and had to be replaced and that interrupted the flow, he thought with a scowl.

Riven simply growled and grabbed a jacket.

"Where are you going?" Brandon asked as he tossed the Leva bike magazine he'd picked up to leaf through, off to the side.

"Out."

"Are you coming back tonight?"

Riven leveled him with a dark glare. "Since when did you become my mother?"

"Cool your jets Riven, he simply asked you a question as a concerned friend. As for you Brandon, Riven's a big boy. If he wants to stay out all night, that's his prerogative." Helia played the peacemaker without much joy. He was trying to think and these two were ruining his concentration with their childish sniping.

Riven just grunted and walked out of the dorm; grabbing his helmet from the back of the door and the keys from the small bowl on the dresser. Brandon watched him go before rounding on Helia.

"You know where he's going, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. Now if you don't mind, I would like some p-" he sighed as he caught sight of Brandon's incredulous look. "Ok, what is it?"

"Riven. He's going to make himself sick. He doesn't sleep and when he does he has nightmares. He's never here because he's over at Alfea watching Musa in case she gets attacked again."

"If something happened to Stella, you'd be there too." Helia pointed out fairly.

"Yeah but I wouldn't keep it a secret. Besides, Stella's my girlfriend; I have the right to watch over her. He won't even tell Musa he cares because he's scared she'll leave just like his mother."

Helia sighed heavily. "Brandon, I know you care about Riven but this is his problem to work out. Let him do it in his own time."

"Hmph." Brandon muttered, folding his arms and staring stonily out at the rain that was pounding against the windows. "He's going to get wet too."

Helia smothered a chuckle. Brandon really did sound like Riven's mother.

* * *

The black thunderous clouds mirrored his mood as he raced down the narrow winding paths that led towards the school of Alfea. He didn't feel like going via the main road or the translocator, he wanted the speed. Maybe the rush would wash away this bubbling fury underneath his skin but he doubted it. It was consuming him from the inside and the only way to delete it would be to take out his frustration on something that felt pain. However what he really wanted to do was slap some sense into that stupid pixie.

What the hell had she been thinking? He wondered mentally as he zoomed over a low branch and swerved onto a narrow path, startling a rabbit before pushing the throttle and gliding through over the undergrowth. She had just had a battle with Darcy the other day, she wasn't sleeping, she was barely eating anything that he could see because she just didn't have the energy and she decided to fight? She needed her head examined.

He shouldn't even care, he thought with a scowl and the scowl darkened as he remembered thinking the same thing over the past couple of years but the simple matter was that he did. She'd gotten under his skin to the point where she was the only thing he did think of. The only time she was pushed back was when he was fighting. The rest of the time was spent wondering what she was doing or if she was safe. It was driving him mad.

He didn't want to care about Musa. She would demand so much. She was a girl; that was what they did. Bloom was constantly on the phone to Sky, the guy never got any peace. Brandon was reduced to a babbling schmuck around Stella using stupid baby names and Timmy was a stuttering fool without a mind of his own. At least Helia had managed to keep his head screwed on, so far. Riven had no doubt that sooner or later, cool as a cucumber Helia, would fall too.

It seemed to be fate that the five of them would be paired up with the five girls. It was sickening and so structured he felt it was his duty to rebel against how perfect it all lined up. Of course, the fact that he had ended up with the most unruly of the group made things easily. The more he pissed her off, the more she rebelled against the forces shoving them together.

Maybe, if everything hadn't been so clear cut, they might have made good friends. He enjoyed her humor and her witticism but that was always overshadowed by the fact that he found her pretty and desirable and every time she was angry with him, it did funny things to his insides and they weren't unpleasant or fear based either.

She was firmly lodged under his skin, growing like a tumor and while part of him wanted to grab his phantoblade and cut her out, the other part wanted to keep her there. This torture was penance for his transgressions during his younger years.

Besides, most of all, he was bad luck. His mother had left him because he hadn't been good enough for her. His father had died and his grandfather… Everyone just left him or something happened to them and the same would happen to Musa. He had almost killed her the last time and because of him, she'd been injured. He should stay away from her and he would, just as soon as he gave her a good talking to for fighting that sludge monster. Dumb stupid fairy!

As he roared up to Alfea, he cast a glance around the grounds. The heavy rain had forced the girls to take shelter apart from one girl who seemed to be enjoying the rain and was splashing about in puddles but he paid her no mind. Instead he steered his bike to the back of the grounds, towards where he knew Musas' dorm was, mindful to keep out of sight.

Faragonda didn't approve of boys being in the girls' dorm area while Griselda constantly gave him beady looks as though she believed him to be the male version of Stella. He hadn't blown anything up in Red Fountain never mind Alfea, but mud sticks, he remembered. He'd made one mistake and that would always remain in everyone's minds no matter how they pretended to forget it. You only ever had one chance at a first impression and he'd blown his at the first opportunity. After all, if people didn't have high expectations for you, then they weren't disappointed when you failed.

Except for Musa, his mind reminded him snidely. She always seemed to be disappointed in him. Despite everything he had done, she still believed in him for reasons he just couldn't understand. She said she loved him, but what was love? At nineteen years old, he still wasn't sure. It was probably one of life's mysteries. Sky believed he had found it with Bloom and Brandon with Stella but what of himself? Sure, he was attracted to Musa. Who wouldn't be? She was cute, feisty and had the longest legs imaginable. But that wasn't love… was it?

He had, in the heat of the moment, told her he loved her. But did he really? He cared about her certainly. Enough to come over here to strap her to her bed until she was graduated and out of danger. It wasn't that hard to care about someone, once your walls had been cracked enough to let people in. And he didn't really mind caring about her, but love implied more.

It implied forever.

To be with Musa forever was a daunting thought and she couldn't possibly want to be with him forever. Forever was a long time, it was the rest of their lives. They could barely spend twelve hours together without having at least two or three fights which resulted in one of them sulking. Forever was too many fights. Too many for her to be happy, anyway.

Pulling off his helmet, he swung his leg over the leva bike and headed for the tree that Flora had grown suspiciously close to the girls' balcony. With easy, fluid movements, he conquered the tree and landed deftly on the floor of the balcony, glancing in the rain sluiced window to see if it was empty. Luck, for a change, was on his side and after jimmying the locks -something he had picked up from lounging around the streets causing all sorts of trouble in the attempt to gain some kind of attention from someone- he entered the warm common.

In the corner, a small grey rabbit looked up warily and twitched its nose before deciding Riven was no danger and settling back to sleep.

As he wandered to Musas' room, he tried to decide what exactly he wanted to say. There was a lot building up inside him ready to spew out at her. All his insecurities, his doubts and his failures created a black mix.

He flicked a look at the name plate on the door. Tecna and Musas' names were scrawled onto two individual plates while on the other side of the small common was a door leading to Flora and Bloom's room, the only one who slept on her own was Stella which he figured was good for her wardrobe. Trees were randomly growing in every spacious plot and on the coffee table magazines were scattered. It wasn't your typical girls' room but there were definite feminine touches from all five personalities.

Sighing at the disorder, he slowly opened Musas' door and stepped inside, closing the door behind him with a soft click. He'd expected to find her lying on the bed with her earphones on or scribbling out some lyrics on her notepad or playing her flute or something that he could rudely rouse her from. Instead, though, he found her curled up in her bed with her covers wrapped tightly around her.

Sighing, he approached the bed. Music was floating out of the radio on the study table in the corner, something soft and sleepy. It seemed to be having a soothing affect on her as she clutched the corner of her pillow cover in her small hand while her dark lashes rested softly on her pale cheeks flushed from the snug warmth of her bed. Her hair had fallen loose from the bunches she usually wore, reminding him of the way it had been curled the other night. The night Darcy attacked. The night of her date.

His blood froze over. During the attack it had been easy to forget how angry he had been with her; to forget how she had turned to another, just days after saying she wanted him to accept her feelings for him. Typical woman, he thought annoyed turning away and walking to the door. She had abandoned him just as his mother had done.

A sharp breath caught his attention and he flicked a stony look over his shoulder to see Musa begin to sit up in her bed, rubbing her eyes and moaning softly. She looked up at him with confused bafflement coloring her expression.

"Riven? What are you doing here?"

He snorted. He hadn't even made a noise and yet she had sensed someone had been in her room. Why hadn't she done that when Darcy had been there? He wondered.

"You planning on answering or are you just going to continue standing there?" she demanded with an arced brow.

"I'm just wondering how you sensed me here." He said truthfully.

If anything, her brow arced higher. "Well duh, I am a fairy. We're trained to sense presences!"

He made a show of frowning in a befuddled manner. "That's funny. If that's the case how come you didn't sense Darcy in your room? Or were you too caught up in your little fantasies of that geek you went out with that night?"

Musas' eyes widened in sheer disbelief. Was Riven jealous? Oh please say it was so, it would be so nice to have the tables turned for a change. "Jealous?" she asked sweetly.

His eyes blazed for a second before coolly, he turned on his heel and marched out the door.

"Damn it!" Musa cursed. Silly her for thinking she could play with Riven because Riven was a high strung moron who just couldn't be teased for fear of blowing a stupid gasket!

Quickly flinging off her covers, she began to scramble around the floor for a pair of shoes. Why was it that she was always chasing him? Honestly, she should just leave him. She was always mocking girls who ran after their boyfriends and here she was doing the same thing for a boy who wasn't even her boyfriend. He wasn't even a friend. She was pathetic!

She shouldn't have to justify her actions to some jumped up loner with an attitude. Yet, if she didn't say something or smooth things over, things would just continue to fester until they became mortal enemies. And things were so close between them. He had kissed her just a week ago and told her he loved her. She couldn't let all that progress go down the drain just because she had been feeling flustered about finding him in her room.

Shoving her feet into her shoes, she raced out of the dorm and looked around, noting the open windows that were rattling in the brewing storm, the billowing curtains and the rain that was spitting in. He'd left via the balcony and if she didn't hurry he'd be on his leva bike and out of there.

Cursing, she rushed to the balcony, not bothering to try to jump for the tree; she simply shifted into her winx form and landed on the ground before him, breathless and trembling with the adrenaline rush. The rain lashed down, soaking her hair, plastering it to her brow and drenching her revealed skin above the sparkly material of her costume.

Riven nearly swallowed his tongue at the sight of her but he was too cold, wet and miserable to flush and when his blood began to simmer, he swore it was because he was angry with her. "Get out of my way, pixie."

"Fairy." She corrected automatically. "And no, I'm not moving. Not until you tell me why you were in my room."

"Disappointed I wasn't your little boyfriend? Now move!"

"Make me." She hissed, planting her feet and slapping her fists on her hips in an effort to control the shivering in her limbs. Her winx form wasn't that warm but the boots gave her some height.

He wasn't in the mood for this, so grabbing her firmly by the shoulders, he lifted her out of his way before striding towards his leva bike.

Musa snarled at his retreating frame and stomped after him. "Stop running away from me Riven."

"I'm not running away from you, I'm walking."

"Why are you here in the first place?"

"It doesn't matter because I'm leaving."

Musa watched him go before deciding to let him go. If this was the way he wanted to be then fine. She didn't have to wait around for him. "Fine, leave. That's what you're best at. No wonder I went out with someone else. At least he likes me and didn't want to run away at the first sign of anything."

She watched him freeze and tense before he swung around and strode up to her. "You're just like every other girl. First sign of difficulty and you jump ship."

"I'm sorry, I think you've got me mixed up with you!" she chimed pettily. "The first sign of difficulty was _you_ dating Darcy!" she snapped poking him squarely in his chest. "And another sign of _difficulty_ was _you_ leaving me at their mercy which may I point out, they _don't_ have! And let's not forget the fact that _you_ weren't there to help us fight off the army of decay until the last moments. And _you_ spied on us for them and you were a big fat _moron_ and guess what, you _still_ are. And _I'm_ still here, you jerk. I haven't run away, that's _you_!" With every emphasized word, she drilled him harder on the chest until he snagged her hand and pulled her flush up against him, temper making his eyes brilliantly purple. Her body bumped against his and her stomach hopped, sending a tingly feeling straight down.

"I told you I loved you and you went out with another!" he snarled.

"Well duh! You told me you loved me and ran away! I shouldn't have to wait around for you to finally wake up to yourself. You're leaving at the end of the year. I might not ever see you again."

"So that's why you dated the geek?"

"He's not a geek; he's a far better man than you."

His eyes smoldered before he replaced his tense expression with a blank mask. Water ran down from his scalp, rolling down his nose and dripping down onto the ground.

She bit her lip to stop herself from pressing her lips to the small rivulet moving along his jaw. Her fingers clenched in his shirt and her breathing became unbearable and tortured. He was so devastatingly close, his scent was unavoidable, wrecking her senses until her head began to grow faint and her heart pounded in her ears.

"Fine, go back to him. Hope you're both happy." He told her in a bland tone that belied his churned up emotions.

Every part of him screamed to get away. He couldn't handle being this close to her. He couldn't handle all the emotions that threatened to boil over when she was there. He had to get away to gain some control and yet…

He wanted to keep her soft warm body pressed up against his, to feel the silken lily white skin under his hands moist with rain. Her eyes were so dark he could drown within them and droplets clung to her lashes, glistened on her lips. Her breasts were crushed against his chest and his mouth went dry when she nervously licked a drop of water from her lips. He swallowed hard.

"I'm not." She whispered; eyes large and eloquent, as deep as the ocean and just as dark.

His eyes narrowed shrewdly. "Not what?"

"Happy. At least, I won't be with him." She took a shuddering breath and wished for thicker clothes, something that would hide her body from his dark knowing gaze. "He's not you and the thing is he's nice and funny and interested. And I spent the whole night wishing he was you even if you were horrible to me. That's how pathetic I've become." She growled, her voice growing stronger with each voice. "The silly thing is that Stella thought that if I went out with someone, you might become jealous enough to do something. But that only works if someone really cares, right? You obviously don't or you won't." She ripped her hands out of his grip and walked back towards Alfea, leaving him in the pouring sheet of rain.

He raked a hand through his hair and growled. Watching her go, he felt his chest seize in unbearable agony at the thought of losing her. If he let her walk away that was it. There would be no more chances. He pushed it away. "I'm bad luck."

She froze and looked over at him. "Who says?"

He faltered at that. "Everyone I care about leaves."

"My mother died, my father's always away, is that my fault?"

"Well… no. But…"

"Oh whatever, Riven. I never pinned you for the self pity type. I told you, everyone is responsible for their own lives and you can't control fate. What happens; happens. Live with it because no one knows how long they have." With a jerk of her shoulder, she began to walk again.

She was fed up nursing his bloody ego. It was about time he noticed that no matter what he had done, she had always been there for him. She had always believed in him, despite even what her common sense told her. Her heart knew that he was It for her. He just had to be so stubborn about it. But if it wasn't worth working for, it wasn't worth keeping.

Besides she had to get in from the rain, she was so run down she'd probably be in bed with the cold for a week. Not a pleasing prospect. Even fairies suffered from the common cold and no amount of fairy magic could get rid of it.

"I won't make a good boyfriend. I'm not a nice person, I can be moody and a git-"

"Preaching to the choir!" She snapped.

He tucked his tongue in his cheek in an effort to suppress the smirk at her sassy retort. He swallowed before saying the next sentence. "I won't share you, so no bringing your friends along."

Along where? "I'm not into orgies."

Now he smirked. "And I don't shop."

With a heavy sigh, she turned to face him. "That's nice; neither do I. You're mixing me up with Stella, you know the perky blonde?"

What was with everyone describing the Jinx club to him today? He knew fine well who they were. He didn't need picture images. "I can't be affectionate in public."

Slowly things were beginning to sink in for Musa. It had taken a while because she had been so angry with him but now… well why else would he be telling her these things? A spark of hope that had never really died began to flutter delicately with his words. Unless, he was playing a cruel joke her mind pointed out with Tecnas' voice. But still the spark began to glow and with it came a giddy feeling low in her gut.

"What are you talking about?" She asked suspiciously as she began to slowly approach him, being sure to keep just out of the way.

His eyes lit up at the expression on her face but he didn't answer her. "I'll be a difficult and demanding boyfriend and I'll be violently jealous of any boy who looks at you. But I do love you." He said the last words a dead serious tone and a sincere look warming his eyes.

She froze, cursing the fact that her heart had taken up permanent residence in her throat so she couldn't breathe past it. Struggling to regain some sanity, she managed a wry smile. "Hey, look you're not bleeding." She quipped at the fact that he had said the words without getting hurt.

Whether he got the joke or not, she didn't know because his eyes hardened and his jaw clenched so a muscle fluttered in his cheek. "Damn you Musa."

She watched surprised as he turned and strode for the leva bike. "Oh crap." She hissed. "RIVEN!" She jogged after him and grabbed his arm yanking him around to face. "Look, ok, I make stupid comments when I don't know what else to say or when I'm scared."

"Scared?" He demanded exasperated. "I thought this was what you wanted."

"I do!" she snapped, then frowned. "Don't you?"

"I wouldn't have said so if I didn't." He seethed.

"Ooh, don't make me mad." She snarled furiously. "This is a big step but you better be sure you're ready for it because if you do anything to hurt me, I will kill you."

"I'd like to see you try." He retorted but it was lacking some of the heat it usually held.

"Oh bite me." She bit out turning back towards the school; the guy was just a pain in the ass. Before she got a step, she was jerked back to face him, a smirk playing on his lips.

"I told you I'd be difficult, if you can't cope, you better say now."

"I've been coping well enough so far." She replied coolly but a smile was beginning to curve her mouth.

"I meant what I said. I love you. If you want me-"

She sighed heavily. "We're going to have to work on your self confidence. I haven't put up with Darcy for the past couple of years to just let you walk away from me. I love you too; don't know why because you can be a jerk." She said with a smile, looping her hands around his neck.

His hands slid around her back, holding her close to him. "So, you're stubborn, you get angry over the slightest thing and stomp off; you constantly snipe at me-"

"So be a man and find a way to shut me up, Riven." She dared with a quirk of her lips and a flash of a challenged in her eyes. Up close, he realized that they were blue. A deep, vivid, navy blue.

She watched with mingling triumph and apprehension as his eyes narrowed, dipping down to her mouth that began to burn with anticipation. His hand moved to cup her cheek, his thumb sweeping over the curve of her cheekbone. She swallowed nervously, unnerved by the focus in those eyes as they watched her. His eyes studied her with burning intensity, roving over her face hungrily as though committing the image to memory. He didn't even seem to notice the rain streaming down in rivulets past his face, running into the dips and crevices of his profile. It was almost as though he was seeing her for the first time.

"We won't be able to go back to the way things were." He told her finally, knowing that if he kissed her, right then, that there would be no turning back. He wouldn't ever be able to be her friend, not that he ever really had been but there had been a possibility for it.

"That's what I'm kind of hoping for." Musa told him rolling her eyes only to take a shaky breath when she was snared in the dark heat of his gaze. "Oh boy." she breathed.

A smirk curved his lips, slow and sensual before he lowered his lips to hers. They closed over her mouth, hot and sweetly until she trembled. A hand slowly traveled down the smooth column of her throat to feel the skittering of her pulse under his fingers. He lapped gently at her lower lip and, with a soft sigh, her mouth opened to his. Their tongues met tentatively, luxuriously sliding against each other in a familiar dance. A soft growl rumbled in his throat as he moved a fraction closer to feel the softness of her body against his. As her mouth began to respond to his, he tried to sink within her. Her warmth, her heart, her passion, he wanted it all.

With a murmur of approval, her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulder, pressing him against her as her mouth avidly moved under his. His taste and scent plagued her daydreams ever since he had kissed her in the swamp and now she had him, she wouldn't give him up. Not for anything. He was what she wanted, had always wanted because she recognized that he was what she needed.

He broke away with reluctance and rested his brow against hers. It was cool and damp from the rain that continued to fall leisurely around them, surrounding them in a cocoon of silvery mist. His breathing was unsteady as he struggled to calm the scramble of his heartbeat and the desire to just press his lips to hers once more. She was habit forming. It would be so easy to kiss her, to touch her and have her respond and the fact that he could because she allowed him sent a rush of exultation through him. _Mine_, he thought fiercely.

A soft sigh escaped Musas' swollen lips. Her body was trembling uncontrollably but it had nothing to do with the temperature of the air around them and everything to do with the emotions and sensations coursing through her. Riven loved her, was _in_ love with her.

She lifted her gaze to his and a smile curved her lips. Something flared in his eyes sending a bolt of lust through her and then he pulled her close and buried his face in her hair. Stunned, she could do nothing but wrap her arms around him and hold him to her as he sought some sort of comfort. Idly her fingers began to trace circles on his taut back as a wicked part of her wondered what his skin underneath was like but she blocked out those thoughts. That wasn't what he needed right now.

"Hey what's up?" She murmured, turning her head to brush a kiss against his hair. It felt so natural as though this was what she had been born to do. To hold him close and comfort him when things became too much, just as she knew he would do for her. It was a startling and scary realization. For someone so strong to realize that they were dependant on another but it was oddly soothing. As though it had been what she was yearning for all along. Him.

"I almost lost you." He whispered as he pulled back.

"I've been standing right here in front of you Riven, how could you- Oh." She lowered her gaze. "That's not your fault." She told him sincerely.

"How can you say that?" He demanded roughly. "I left you at the mercy of those bitches and you say that's not my fault?"

"Under. A. Spell."

How many times was she going to have to keep pointing that out to people? It seemed like a broken record to her. She was constantly telling people he was under a spell and now she had to defend Riven to himself. Well that was really whack.

"I wasn't under one at the swamp or here when Darcy attacked you." He snapped gesturing wildly at the school, his eyes were blazing with temper and his mouth was strained.

"You're psychic now? Way to go on keeping that to yourself, Riven. Tell me, do you use a crystal ball or tarot cards?"

He wasn't amused. Why couldn't she see how much danger he had put her in? It was because of him that Darcy attacked her. It was because of him that she had been hurt over and over again. It was because he had been so stubborn that she had ended up with her feelings bruised. How could she so easily forgive him? How could she still want him?

She matched his venomous look. "It wasn't your fault Darcy attacked me. You can't help it if she's a psycho."

"I should have known that she'd attack you." He yelled stepping away from her. "What else was she going to do after I said your name? I might as well have painted a target on your back?"

She tucked her tongue in her mouth sensing that making a comment about her naked back and the target probably would only serve to infuriate him. "Well you probably shouldn't have said my name." She acknowledged slowly.

"It wasn't like I meant to!" He snarled, frustration bubbling over every word as he glared at her.

A brow winged up and her lips quivered and he cursed which only made her smile unfurl, brightening up the evening. "Oh please, do continue. Why did you say my name?"

"Shut up." He groaned.

She grinned at him, before sobering on a long breath. "Look, Riven, you shouldn't beat yourself up for things that are beyond your control. You can't keep living in the past or brooding about your mistakes, everyone makes them."

"I told you I could be difficult. If you-"

"Wow, this is called a circle. You start at one spot and you move round to finish at it again." She drawled sardonically as she drew the imaginary circle with her index finger.

"A circle?"

"Yes, a circle. We're going around in a circle. I get it; you don't think you're good enough for me. Fine, you think that. I'll continue thinking that the only person I want is you. I love you Riven. You love me. Let's just keep things simple."

"Darcy is still going to attack you." He said with a sigh, stepping close to her again and pulling her close so that he could press his lips against her brow. It may be weak and selfish not to give her up but he had never claimed to have much honor. He did what he wanted for his own reasons. Everyone else be damned.

"And Icy is going to continue to attack Bloom. It's just something we have to live with. Besides, Darcy hasn't once attacked me with my friends nor has she attacked you when you were with others."

"She attacked the two of us." He told her, referring to that time in the swamp.

Musa nodded. "By accident though. She didn't know I would be there and she fought me, up in the sky where you couldn't help and I held my own. If it wasn't for Stormy, then we'd have called it a draw."

"Or she might have gotten in a lucky strike." He pointed out grimly.

Musa bristled stepping out of the circle of his arms. "Give me some credit. I can fight just as well as you, just in a different way."

"You can't fight, you just fling your stupid fairy powers around and-" He broke off as a fist slammed into his gut. He blew out a breath and rubbed his stomach gently. "That was pathetic."

Musas' eyes narrowed to slits. "Keep insulting me Riven-"

"You aren't bunching your fist correctly. If that had been a real fight and I had been anticipating it, I'd have easily deflected it and broken your beautiful little neck."

"If that was a real fight, I wouldn't have used my fist." She growled, stepping closer to him, her fists bunching once again of their own accord. She didn't seem to feel the cold since she was too fired up with her agitation. He was just so infuriating.

"What if you didn't have time to change, Muse?" He asked, tucking a strand of dark hair away from her face.

She was getting wet. He should get her into the school. Her skirt was dark with rain and her boots were slick with it. Her wings glistened and the ribbons around her arms hung limply as did her hair. And it was strange. It didn't matter how irritated he was with her, he simply couldn't help wanting to touch her and keep her safe. That was what was different. He could be angry and still care.

With Darcy it had been purely about wanting to be accepted, to belong. He hadn't belonged with the guys at Red Fountain. They all came from relatively strong familial backgrounds and Brandon and Sky were like brothers. Sky had everything that Riven had wanted. And then Bloom and her fairy pals had happened and once again he felt as though he didn't fit. The three, Brandon, Sky and Timmy, were falling for the girls and spending more time with them rather than with him. He had felt left out.

And then the Trix girls had come along. They had brought them into their little group and told him a little about their plans to have a little fun with the fairies and the heroes. He had been so bitter at the time that he had been happy to join in, to be part of their little secret. A dark part of him enjoyed knowing what would come, of knowing something they didn't. It was like revenge for the fairies pushing him out of his friends' life and against his friends for choosing girls over him.

But then he had realized something. The witches had been using him all along and the people that truly cared were those that stuck with him. Who had accepted him back despite his many mistakes. And still, he let them down by returning to Darcy because he had been so damned afraid that Musa would never really care for him the way he cared for her.

With Darcy, it had just been an escape. Empty and meaningless.

With Musa, it was so much more. He belonged to her. She accepted him in a way that none of the others could. She could yell at him and punch him and it wouldn't matter because he knew that she still cared. The day she stopped getting angry with him would be the day that he would start to believe that she didn't.

"I could teach you to fight, just some basic maneuvers."

She watched him thoughtfully for a brief second but there was no mistaking the calculating glint in her eyes or the way her mouth curved despite the way she tried to stop it. "Really? Aren't they top secret Red Fountain stuff?"

"Not really. Just simple stuff that anyone should know to protect themselves."

"So anyone could teach me, not just you?" she asked idly, but he could see the glimmer of laughter and it humbled him that no matter how emotionally hard her life was, she still continued to tease and take pleasure out of just living.

"Probably, but they wouldn't be nearly as good a fighter."

"Ah, but what about a teacher?"

"I could make it worth your while." He murmured, shifting her closer to him so that their bodies bumped intimately.

Musa flushed, unused to this side of Riven but not unaffected by it. Her blood began to heat and her legs went weak as jelly at her knees, so that her hands came to clutch at his arms as they cradled her against him. "When…" She cleared her throat. "When can we start?"

A slow smile moved over his face. "Right now. But first we head back to Red Fountain."

"Huh?" She blurted out as he grabbed her hand and led her towards the leva bike. "Why Red Fountain?" She demanded as he shoved a spare helmet into her hands.

"It's raining here."

"So? It'll be raining there too."

"Ever heard of a training room?" He deadpanned.

"But I'm soaked through, I need to change." She argued.

He rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh. "Fine then, but I'm not waiting all day. You have exactly ten minutes."

"I told you, I'm not Stella." She grumbled petulantly.

The pout was endearing enough, -not that he'd ever tell her that- to prompt him to brush a kiss over it. "Go on, hurry up."

"Fine."

"And wear something you can get your cute butt kicked in."

"Oh gee, all these compliments are making me blush." She muttered dryly as she stomped away from him, listening to his laughter behind her. And despite her words her cheeks tinted.

She flew back up to her room and quickly began to change her clothes, pulling on a pair of navy bottoms and a matching crop-top with a sleeveless jacket. Summoning a drying spell to mind, she quickly chanted it, feeling the water soak into her hair leaving it in its usual silky state. She crossed to her desk where a notebook and pen sat at the ready for any inspiration surges. Picking up a pen, she giddily scribbled out a note she'd never thought she would ever have cause to write.

_Gone out with Riven. Don't know when I'll be back. Don't wait up._

_Musa _

_xoxo_

Then, with a stylish spin, she left the room and headed out for a sparring session with her boyfriend.

She would never know what really compelled Riven to say her name to Darcy, but whatever the reason, she was incredibly glad he did. Maybe it was simply an accident, after all they do happen. Even to heroes in training, and even more importantly, to heroes themselves but not nearly as often because that would diminish their hero status. Maybe on a subconscious level, he knew what he was doing. Perhaps he just couldn't go on with the way things were, living a lie and denying what he knew was right. Or it simply just could have slipped out because he was thinking about her, Musa, instead of the girl in his arms.

Whatever the reason, whatever his motives, she was glad he did because despite the repercussions and the dangers she could face, she had him now. He loved her. She loved him. That was all that mattered.

Well that and saving Magix.

* * *

THE END

* * *

**I can't believe she didn't have any reaction to him at all. She should have hit him, heck I would have hit him for her. Ugh! IF they don't interact they can't become a realistic couple. -Scowls-**

**Anyways, ignore the typos. I'm really sorry about the wait, the internet is not my reliable friend at the moment. The only reason I'm on is because of a power cut and my laptop's battery is about to die. **

**Oh the powers were all made up, you may have guessed but it's not a winx thingy if there's no action so I had to make them beat up something. **

**I may have another fic. Dunno yet. Been toying with it but I have loads of other stories to write. But if I do write it, it will be kind of AU, since I'm ignoring the ending to the 1st series and the entire second series because I'm bored of the Dragon Fire saga. Time for the other girls to have the spotlight... or so that's how I'm thinking of it. I hoped you enjoyed this and i hope the ending wasn't too crappy. Thank you for your support. I can't believe I've finished this. I may do an epilogue butI don't think it needs one. **

**Zadien**


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